Roadside bomb in south Afghanistan kills 12 workers

Roadside bomb in south Afghanistan kills 12 workers

2011-05-24 19:00:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- A roadside bomb in south Afghanistan killed at least 12 road workers on Monday, officials said.

The roadside bomb detonated and struck a truck carrying a group of approximately 40 workers in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, provincial deputy police chief Col. Sher Shah Yousafzai told Pajhwok Afghan News.

In addition to the 12 fatal victims, 28 others were injured, health officials from the Mirwais Civil Hospital in Kandahar City said, adding that most of the victims are from central Maidan Wardak and Logar provinces, while others came from north Afghanistan and even Pakistan.

The death toll could rise as 8 of the injured are reportedly in critical condition, while Panjwai district chief Fazluddin Agha, said an exact number of casualties is still not available.

According to one of the injured, he was paid 500 afghanis ($10.78) a day by the Nesa Construction Company, which builds roads and canals in Panjwai.

Last week, Taliban rebels killed 35 workers during an attack against a construction company the province of Paktia, located in southeast Afghanistan.

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