Kabul: Five civilians were killed in one of
the deadliest parts of southern Afghanistan when their
mini-van drove over a land mine, a provincial government
spokesman said on Friday.
Helmand provincial spokesman Daud Ahmadi said one person
was also injured in the blast yesterday afternoon in the
district of Sangin, the deadliest area for US forces in the
course of a nearly 10-year war against the Taliban.
"A mini-van struck a Taliban-planted mine and five
people were killed and another person was injured," he said,
adding: "They were civilians."
They were killed on the same day that the United Nations
said the number of civilians killed in the first half of 2011
was up 15 per cent, putting the year on track to be the
deadliest in the current conflict in Afghanistan.
Helmand provincial spokesman Daud Ahmadi said one person
was also injured in the blast yesterday afternoon in the
district of Sangin, the deadliest area for US forces in the
course of a nearly 10-year war against the Taliban.
"A mini-van struck a Taliban-planted mine and five
people were killed and another person was injured," he said,
adding: "They were civilians."
They were killed on the same day that the United Nations
said the number of civilians killed in the first half of 2011
was up 15 per cent, putting the year on track to be the
deadliest in the current conflict in Afghanistan.
The UN mission in Afghanistan said insurgents were
responsible for 80 per cent of civilian deaths in the past six
months and NATO troops 14 per cent of the killings.
NATO is investigating claims that six civilians were
killed during a military operation targeting the
al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network in the east.
PTI
