Kandahar: Two mine clearers were killed
and two others injured when their vehicle struck a roadside
bomb in southern Afghanistan, a local police chief said on Wednesday.
The blast struck in Chora district of Uruzgan province
yesterday when the Afghan employees of the Mine Detection
Center (MDC) were travelling to work.
"Two mine clearers were killed and two were wounded in
the roadside bomb," Mohammad Gula, deputy provincial police
chief, told agency.
MDC is a non-governmental organisation established in
1989 to sweep landmines mostly planted during the Soviet
occupation of Afghanistan.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed
responsibility for the blast and said they were targeting a
military vehicle.
Also today, a NATO helicopter made an emergency
landing due to technical problems in northern Kunduz province,
but no casualties were reported, district chief Shaikh Saadi
said. NATO did not immediately comment on the incident.
There are currently about 120,000 troops under NATO
and US command in Afghanistan battling a Taliban-led
insurgency now in its ninth year, with troops numbers expected
to swell to 150,000 within months.
PTI
