News / Afghanistan

Roadside bombs kill 9 civilians in Afghanistan

Monday, 29 August 2016 2:41 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 29 August 2016 2:41 PM ]

Afghan police bring a wounded man to a hospital after a car bombing near a police training base in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province on May 14, 2016. (AFP photo)

At least nine civilians have lost their lives and several others sustained injuries in two separate roadside bomb attacks in Afghanistan.

According to Afghan officials, the first blast took place in the country’s southern province of Helmand on Monday, killing six people and wounding five others, including three women and two children from the same family.

Another explosion in the central province of Ghor late on Sunday killed three civilian lives and injured eight others mostly women and children.

No group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks, but such incidents are mostly blamed on Taliban militants who frequently target security forces as well as with homemade bombs placed along roads and footpaths.

Afghan security forces patrol during a military operation in Helmand province on August 12, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Late last month, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had recorded 1,601 civilian deaths and 3,565 injuries in Afghanistan in the first six months of 2016.

The mission warned that civilian casualties had hit a record high this year, describing them as "alarming and shameful."

Australian national freed 4 months after kidnapping in Afghanistan

In a separate development on Monday, an Australian aid worker who had been abducted in Afghanistan was freed by the country’s security forces after four months in captivity.

The file photo shows Australian aid worker Kerry Jane Wilson, who was abducted in Afghanistan in April.

Kerry Jane Wilson was kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the Afghan city of Jalalabad in eastern Nangarhar province on April 28.

The Australian Foreign Ministry confirmed Wilson’s release in a statement, saying, "She is now safe and well.”

Afghanistan has been gripped by insecurity since the US and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. Many parts of the country still remain plagued by militancy despite the presence foreign troops from many US allies.

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