Three children among 4 killed in western Afghanistan roadside bomb

USPA News - Three children were among the four killed during Tuesday`s roadside bomb attack in western Afghanistan, local authorities said. A couple and their three children on board a civilian vehicle were traveling in the Chah Shorab area of Javin District, which is located in the province of Farah, when a roadside bomb struck their car on Tuesday morning at around 7:30 a.m. local time.

According to the governor`s spokesperson, the father and his three children lost their lives during the blast, while the children`s mother, identified as Abdur Rahman Zhwandai, was injured, Pajhwok Afghan News reported. Zhwandai was rushed to the Farah Civil Hospital for medical treatment, but her health condition was no immediately known. No group or terrorist organization claimed responsibility of the attack, which came one day after the United Nations (UN) called for a stop in such attacks. On Monday, a motorcycle suicide bomber targeted an International Security Assistance Force convoy that was driving in front of a school. As a result, two American soldiers, an Afghan policeman and ten children were killed in Gardez, the capital of Paktya province. At least 15 others were also injured. In the city of Mihtarlam, the capital of Laghman province, an improvised explosive device was detonated on a roadside, reportedly killing seven members of one family, including four women and two children. The family was said to be returning home in a truck after collecting firewood. The Secretary-General`s Special Representative and head of UNAMA, Ján Kubi?, said the attacks " resulted in a high number of civilian casualties, with minimal impact on their purported military targets. Any such violence is unacceptable, but especially when it involves civilians and even more so when it involves children." "Any attacks which deliberately take place near a school can only be condemned for the heinous attacks that they are," Kubi? added. In 2012, over 500 Afghan children died following suicide bombings or in attacks using improvised explosive devices, according to a news release issued by the Secretary-General`s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.