6 civilians killed in roadside bomb blast in N. Afghanistan

Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-08 18:18:47|Editor: xuxin
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AFGHANISTAN-BALKH-BOMB BLAST

An injured man receives medical treatment at a local hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh province, Afghanistan, Aug. 8, 2018. Six civilians were killed and seven others wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan's northern province of Balkh on Wednesday, a local official said. (Xinhua/Yaqoub Azorda)

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Six civilians were killed and seven others wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan's northern province of Balkh on Wednesday, a local official said.

"The incident occurred in Quch Qazal village of Sholgara district roughly at 05:30 a.m. local time when a running vehicle touched off an improvised explosive device (IED) along a dusty road," provincial government spokesman Munir Ahmad Farhad told Xinhua.

A total of 13 people were affected by the explosion and those among the victims were four children and two women, he said.

Local officials blame Taliban militants for planting the IEDs to target security forces in the district that has been the scene of heavy armed clashes earlier this year.

More than 1,690 civilians were killed and over 3,430 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first half of the year in the war-torn country, according to figures released by the United Nations mission in the country.

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