Bomb blast kills 12 civilians in southern Afghanistan
At least 12 civilians have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan, Press TV reports.
The bomb targeted a minivan carrying the members of a family in Marjeh district of the southwestern Afghan province of Helmand on Saturday afternoon, said Nabi Jan Mullahkhail, the provincial police chief, adding that the incident also left eight other civilians wounded.
Helmand’s Deputy Governor Mohammad Jan Rasolyar also confirmed that all the victims “were from the same family,” but gave a different figure for the fatalities.
"Fourteen civilians were killed and five others wounded in an IED (improvised explosive device) blast in Marjeh district of Helmand Province,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Salih, a relative of those killed, said that the death toll of the terrorist attack was much higher, claiming that 21 of his relatives lost their lives in the incident.
The family was departing Marjeh after receiving reports that Afghan forces were to launch an offensive on the district, Salih said.
No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the deadly incident. However, the attack bears the hallmarks of Taliban militants, who frequently use roadside bombings to target Afghan security forces and their vehicles.
This was the first major terrorist attack in the war-torn country since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
Afghanistan was invaded by the US and its allies in 2001 under the pretext of Washington’s anti-terror campaign. The invasion removed Taliban militants from power, but insecurity, instability and violence still plague the country.
A recent study shows that almost 100,000 people were killed and a same number of others wounded in Afghanistan since the US invasion in 2001.
Though the US military campaign in Afghanistan officially terminated in December 2014, there still remain over 13,500 foreign forces, mainly from the US, in the violence-wracked country.
FNR/MKA/HMV
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