34 Afghan passengers killed as bus hits roadside bomb

HERAT (Afghanistan): At least 34 people were killed in western Afghanistan Wednesday when the bus, they were travelling in, hit a roadside bomb, officials said, a day after the UN warned civilians were dying at “shocking” levels in the war-torn country.

The blast ripped through a passenger bus on a main highway in Farah province, at around 6:00 am (0130 GMT), authorities said, killing mainly women and children.

“A passenger bus travelling on the Kandahar-Herat highway hit a Taliban roadside bomb killing 34 innocent people and wounding 17 others,” said Muhibullah Muhib, a police spokesman for Farah province.

All were civilians, mostly women and children, he said.

Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Afghan presidency, confirmed the toll, blaming the incident on the Taliban.

Nasrat Rahim, the interior ministry spokesman, called the blast a “barbaric act of the terrorists”.

There was no immediate confirmation from the insurgents that they were behind the blast.

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