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| Afghanistan |
| Bomb hits Afghan bus, kills five civilians |
| 2010-05-26 |
| [Dawn] A bomb ripped through a minibus in western Afghanistan on Monday, killing five civilians and wounding another eight, some critically, the interior ministry said. The Toyota Coaster bus had been taking passengers from the district of Pusht Rod in Farah province to Khaki Safed district. The attack was the latest sign of increasing violence in relatively peaceful western Afghanistan. "Five civilians were martyred and another eight civilians were wounded,"said the ministry, blaming the "terrorist act" on "enemies of Afghanistan" a term frequently invoked by the authorities in reference to Taliban insurgents. President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack as "against all human and Islamic principles" and offered condolences to the families of the victims. Roadside bombs are the weapon of choice for militants leading a nearly nine-year insurgency against Afghan and US-led foreign forces, which broke out after the 2001 US-led invasion brought down the Taliban regime. In a similar incident on Sunday, militants opened fire on a minibus in northern Baghlan province, killing three civilians, said the ministry. The Taliban threatened a new nationwide campaign of attacks from May 10 targeting diplomats, members of the Afghan parliament, foreign contractors and the international military force. A police official said Monday that more than 60 Taliban insurgents were killed in raids in central Afghanistan, as Nato announced the death of another soldier in a bomb attack. The Nato soldier, whose nationality was not disclosed, was killed on Monday in southern Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement. Khyalbaz Sherzai, the police chief of central Ghazni province, said more than 60 Taliban insurgents had been killed in separate raids across the restive province since late Sunday. More than 30 rebels were killed by ISAF forces, Sherzai said. ISAF headquarters in Kabul said it was unaware of the operation. About 30 other militants were killed in operations by local police and army in other parts of Ghazni, Sherzai added. Much of Ghazni, the provincial capital which sits on a strategic highway linking Kabul to the restive south and western border with Iran, is regularly troubled by the Taliban. |
| Posted by:Fred |