Minibus explosion kills 17 in Afghanistan

A BOMB tore through a minibus in southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing 17, half of them children, in the second deadly attack in less than a week to be blamed on Taliban guerrillas.

The bomb exploded at 8.00am just outside Helmand province’s capital Lashkar Gah, 340 miles southwest of Kabul, provincial security chief Abdul Rahman Sabir said.

“It was a massive explosion. Police gathered body parts from the area and after we gathered all the body parts we reckoned 17 people were killed,” he said. “Half of them were children.”