Roadside bomb blast kills 10 civilians in Afghanistan

GHAZNI, Afghanistan: Ten civilians, including four women and a child, were killed when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Friday.

The explosion happened in the volatile district of Jaghatu in Ghazni province after the US and Taliban paused ongoing talks on Thursday. “Unfortunately, in the explosion 10 people, including four women and a child, were killed,” Ghazni provincial governor spokesman Aref Noori told AFP on Saturday.

All the victims of the blast were civilians, he added, saying six others were wounded. Marwa Amini, deputy spokeswoman for the interior ministry in Kabul, confirmed the blast and toll. There was no claim of responsibility for the explosion.

Earlier this week the Taliban launched an attack near Bagram, a major American airbase. Insurgents often use roadside bombs and landmines to target Afghan security forces, however, the lethal weapons also inflict heavy casualties on civilians. The explosion comes just hours after Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said insurgent leaders had held “positive talks” with a US delegation in Doha, adding the two sides planned to restart talks after a few days. Years of conflict have left Afghanistan strewn with landmines, unexploded mortars, rockets and homemade bombs — and many are picked up by curious children. Last month, 15 civilians including eight children were killed when their vehicle hit a land mine in northern Kunduz province.