KANDAHAR: A bus packed with Afghan civilians hit a roadside bomb near the southern city of Kandahar on Tuesday, killing 30 people and wounding 39, underscoring the dangers civilians face as the eight-year war turns increasingly violent. Nine women and seven children were among the dead, said provincial police chief, Sardar Mohammad Zazai.
“The enemies of Afghanistan are planting mines on the main highway and killing innocent women and children,” Zazai said. The bus was traveling along a main road when it encountered a NATO team clearing roadside bombs. Fearing more bombs ahead, the driver steered onto a parallel dirt road but struck an explosive device planted there, according to local official Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi.
The bus hit the bomb on the western outskirts of Kandahar city, in a militant-controlled district called Maiwand.
Among the 39 wounded, some severely injured passengers were taken to a NATO base for treatment, said Bismullah Khan, the police chief in Maiwand.
