21 killed in Afghanistan market blast
Sunday, 13 Jul 2008 12:18
The attack took place in a market in the southern province of Uruzgan
An explosion in a market in southern Afghanistan has claimed 21 lives.
Police said a bomb exploded in the Deh Rawud district of Uruzgan province this morning with four police officers and many children losing their lives in the attack.
Provincial police chief Jumma Gul told the Reuters news agency that the bomber had targeted a police vehicle in the market, adding that the Taliban had planned the bomb blast.
He said: "Seventeen civilians and four policemen died in the attack. Thirty-seven more civilians and five police have been wounded."
The Taliban is yet to comment on the attack and no other groups have claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
In other news, US troops in the country said they were investigating the deaths of at least 47 Afghan civilians in a NATO airstrike last week.
The missile attack on a wedding party also wounded nine others, according to the Afghan government.