Roadside bomb kills 11 civilians in Afghanistan

By Zabihullah Tamanna

KABUL, Afghanistan

At least 11 people were killed Friday after their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province, local officials said.

Mohibullah Kohistani, the town’s police chief, told Anadolu Agency that all the victims were civilians – including women and children – and the incident took place on Thursday night in Baghlan city, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Kabul.

Afghan security forces are currently fighting the Taliban in several districts of the province.

Taliban militants have regularly planted roadside bombs to target Afghan security forces and international troops, but the attacks mostly cause civilian casualties.

According to a UN report, nearly 2,000 civilians were killed and wounded across Afghanistan in the first quarter of 2016.