18 killed in Afghan ­roadside bomb

Eighteen civilians died when a roadside bomb destroyed their minivan in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province yesterday, a day after a Taliban attack in Uruzgan killed 21 people.

The latest bomb blast came as UN figures show civilian deaths are up 15 per cent in the first half of this year, reaching record levels in the long war between insurgents and the Kabul government that is backed by Nato-led troops.

Afghan General Sayed Malook said the vehicle was in Nahri Sarraj district, travelling to the provincial capital Lashkar Gah 35 kilometres away, when it was hit.

“The reports that I’ve received from the scene indicate that all 18 people in the vehicle have been killed,” said deputy police chief Kamaluddin Shirzai.

The Helmand governor’s office gave a lower toll of 16, but said the area was heavily mined, making it difficult to access the crash site and verify all casualties. Two women and two children were among the dead.

In a separate incident in Helmand yesterday, one person was killed and four others wounded when their tractor hit an improvised bomb in the Garmser district, officials said.