Afghan blast kills 13 civilians

A roadside bomb has killed 13 civilians in eastern Afghanistan, government officials said.

The interior ministry said in a statement that the vehicle, a motorised rickshaw, was hit on Wednesday morning.

The dead include women and children. The attack took place in Khoshamand district in Paktika province.

It is not known who carried out the attack, but the area on Pakistan’s border is a stronghold of the Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.

The interior ministry blamed the attack on “enemies of Afghanistan’s people” – a phrase often used to describe the Taliban.

A police investigation has been launched, it said.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.