Mortar fire kills 5 Afghan kids

KHOST: A mortar shell fired by the Taliban struck a house in a village in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, killing five children from the same family, an official said. The mortar strike happened in a village in Dwamanda district of Khost province, which borders Pakistan, said Talib Mangal, a spokesman for the provincial governor. “Taliban fighters fired a mortar on a residential house... as a result, five children were killed — four boys and a girl,” he told AFP. Mangal said two girls were also wounded when the shell hit the house. He said all of the children belonged to the same family.