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Roadside bomb kills 21 in S Afghanistan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-06 15:03

KABUL: An Afghan police chief says a roadside bomb hit a group of people traveling to a wedding in southern Afghanistan and, 21 civilians were killed.

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The Afghan Ministry of Defense confirmed the Wednesday attack and said at least 20 people were killed.

Helmand provincial police chief Assadullah Sherzad says women and children were among the dead in Garmser district, where roadside bombs are frequently used to attack foreign and Afghan forces.

Sherzad says five people were wounded.

Thousands of US Marines and British soldiers are conducting offensives in Helmand, one of the centers of the Taliban insurgency, in attempt to extend government control and ensure stability ahead of the Aug. 20 presidential elections.

The insurgents, who pledge to disrupt the vote, have markedly ramped up attacks and dramatically increased their use of roadside bombs this year.

The UN says civilian deaths in the escalating war soared by 24 percent during the first half of 2009 compared with the same period last year and blamed most of the casualties on Taliban attacks launched with little regard for civilian lives.

The UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan also pointed to stepped-up military operations by the United States and its allies, especially airstrikes.

But the report said the number of civilians killed by the Taliban and other "anti-government forces" during the first half of the year was double those attributed to the US-led coalition and Afghan government forces. The UN termed that a "significant shift" from 2007, when the coalition was responsible for 41 percent of civilian deaths.

July was the bloodiest month for the US and NATO in the nearly eight-year war. At least 42 US service members and 31 from other international military forces were killed, according to military reports.

The toll for August rose to 11 as the US military reported that one of its troops had been killed by a roadside bomb in western Afghanistan on Wednesday. NATO said the death came after its forces battled insurgents spotted placing roadside bombs, but then were hit by one such device themselves.