Afghan violence kills twelve people in two attacks (Roundup)

Feb 26, 2011, 11:37 GMT

Kabul - Ten people were killed in two attacks on Saturday in Afghanistan, officials said.

Nine civilians, including women and children, were killed by a roadside bomb Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, a police official said. The explosion occurred in Lakhan, a remote village in Khost province, provincial deputy police chief Yaqub Khan said.

'Three men, two women and four children were martyred in the blast,' he said. 'An investigation is under way.'

Similarly, a suicide bomber attacked an Afghan traditional game match in north-western province of Faryab, killing one horseman, official said Saturday.

'The suicide bomber entered the ground in Faizabad plain lands where the Buzkashi game was going on and detonated his vest, instantly killing three and injuring several others,' provincial governor Abdul Haq Shafaq told the German Press Agency dpa.

More than 35 were injured in the incident, he said.

Buzkashi is an ancient Afghan sport played between skilled horsemen who vie to take control of a carcass of a dead animal, usually a goat or calf.

The suicide bomber was a 16-year old Afghan, the official said. The incident took place in Sherin Tagab district of Faryab province, some 50 kilo meters away from provincial headquarters.

Shafaq blamed the Taliban of trying to target Afghan government officials. 'However there were not any officials at the game. All those casualties were civilians,' he said.

In Kabul, police said three rockets were fired Saturday morning in a public area in the capital but caused no damage.

Civilians and public spaces have been largely targeted with escalation in violence in recent days all over Afghanistan. A week earlier, seven civilians and a police officer were killed in a suicide bombing in the same province.

Violence is on the rise throughout the country as both foreign troops and Taliban militants increase their operations.

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