Afghanistan Times
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AT-KABUL: Two civilians were killed in a roadside bombing in the southern Kandahar province, a local official said Sunday.
The provincial governor spokesman Samim Ikhpelwak said the blast targeted a civilian van in Shah Wali Kot distract of the province on early morning.
“They were traveling from Kandahar city to Shah Wali Khot district while their vehicle hit by a road side bomb, both driver and a passenger were killed in a blast,” he said.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Taliban insurgents frequently target security forces with homemade bombs placed along roads and footpaths.
Recently a UN report on Afghanistan published shows the total civilian casualty figure recorded by the UN between 1 January 2009 and 30 June 2016 has risen to 63,934, including 22,941 deaths and 40,993 injured. Between January and June this year, the Human Rights team of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 1,601 civilian deaths and 3,565 injured civilians. This represents an increase of four percent in the total number of casualties compared to the first six months of 2015 – and is the highest half-year total since 2009. This year’s casualties include 1,509 children (388 dead and 1,121 injured) – a figure the UN Human Rights Chief described as “alarming and shameful,” particularly as it represents the highest numbers of children killed or wounded in a six-month period since counting began in 2009. There were also 507 women casualties (130 killed and 377 injured).
