Roadside bomb kills 19 civilians in southern Afghanistan

2011-12-08 20:28:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANGIN DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Nineteen civilians were killed on late Wednesday morning when a roadside bomb struck a passenger bus in southern Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday. Several others were injured.

The explosion happened at around 11 a.m. local time in the Amanullah Kariaze area of Sangin district in Helmand province, which is frequently the scene of roadside bombings. Provincial officials confirmed nineteen people on the bus were killed, including five children.

Among those killed was one American citizen, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said. "Our thoughts are with the families of those killed and injured in these callous attacks," the Embassy said in a statement. "The United States will continue to stand with our Afghan partners as they defend themselves against terrorism and build a more peaceful future."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and General John R. Allen, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), also condemned the attack. "Insurgents are resorting to cowardly attacks in an attempt to terrorize the Afghan people," Allen said.

In addition to those killed, five people were transported to an ISAF base for treatment. It was not immediately known who was behind the attack, although local officials blamed the Taliban. The Taliban was not available for comment.

Wednesday's attack came just one day after at least 55 people were killed when an unidentified suicide bomber detonated his explosives in front of the Abul Fazal Shrine in the capital Kabul. The bomber was among hundreds of Shiite members who were marking the death of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, on the occasion of the Day of Ashura.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-12-08

It's got tough competition, but it looks as though Afghanistan is becoming the worst place in the world to reside. Its chief competitors: Zimbabwe, Ugunda, DR Congo, N.Korea, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Haiti. The most recent bombings are agitating the Afghans to focus their anger at the Pakistanis. There remains more than a few top officers in the Pakistani armed forces who are unabashedly siding with Taliban, and probably even Al Qaeda and the fanatics who try to make trouble with India. It's hard to tell, as there are so many screwballs in Pakistan, with alliances stitched together in every sort of configuration. What a strange species people are. No other species of animal or insect is as remotely screwed up as humans. The big brain is the curse of mankind, because it's so readily used to cause dire harm - both to itself and to others.