A roadside bomb killed 13 civilians in Kandahar. The victims were travelling in a pick-up truck in a volatile district of southern Afghanistan on Monday, officials said, in the first major incident since elections two days ago.
Taliban militants had vowed to target voters, candidates and officials at the presidential elections, but there were no large-scale attacks on polling day on Saturday. “A civilian vehicle hit a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Maiwand district,” Kandahar provincial police spokesman Ghorzang Afridi told the media. “As a result of the blast, 13 civilians were killed, all men.
“Five others were wounded, among them one woman and some children.”
The truck was travelling from a remote village to Kandahar city when it hit the explosive.
Roadside bombs are a common weapon used by the Taliban, though attacks that kill civilians often go unclaimed and there was no immediate claim of responsibility from the insurgents.