Roadside bomb kills 5 civilians, injures 13 in southern Afghanistan

At least five civilians have been killed and more than a dozen others wounded in a bomb explosion that destroyed their vehicle in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand.

“A minibus was travelling along a road in the Sistani locality of Marja district on Thursday night. The vehicle touched off an improvised explosive device, and the explosion killed five people and injured 13 others,” said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

He added that the deceased were three teenage girls and two women, noting that the ill-fated passengers were travelling to a nearby village to participate in a wedding party.

Those killed and injured in the bomb attack were transported to a hospital in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, situated about 555 kilometers (344 miles) south of the capital, Kabul.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the act of terror. However, such incidents are usually blamed on Taliban militants.

Roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices are by far the most lethal weapons Taliban militants use against Afghan forces, foreign troopers, and civilians.

Afghanistan faces a security challenge years after the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed Taliban from power, but many areas in the Asian country are still beset with killings, bombings and armed clashes.

Mark Bowden, the UN Secretary General’s deputy special representative in Afghanistan, said earlier this month that Taliban terror campaign has claimed nearly 1,000 civilian lives and left almost 2,000 others injured across Afghanistan in the first four months of this year.

“As of April 30, 1,989 Afghans were injured as a result of the conflict and 978 Afghan civilians killed, throughout the country,” Bowden said, noting that the number of wounded at the Emergency Hospital in Kabul illustrates the deteriorating security situation.

“The doctors there told me that they are seeing a 50-percent increase in the number of civilians injured this year compared to the same period last year,” he stated.