Twelve killed by roadside bombs in Afghanistan

September 23, 2009

Police in Afghanistan say 12 civilians were killed in two roadside bombings in two days.

Seven civilians, including two young children, were killed Wednesday when their car struck a bomb in southern Kandahar province. Another roadside bombing killed five people in Farah province a day earlier, according to police spokesman Raouf Ahmadi.

In other violence, officials say 21 fighters were killed in an air strike by international forces in a remote area of southwestern Nimroz province.

Provincial Governor Ghulam Dagastir Azad said that the bombings targeted three militant vehicles that were reported to be traveling toward Afghan security posts along the border with Pakistan. He says that there were no civilian casualties.

According to a report released by the United Nations, at least 1,013 civilians were killed in the first half of this year, 60% of them due to militant attacks. The number is 24% higher than the same time period in 2008.