5 Killed in Afghanistan Blasts
By VOA News
23 June 2009
Afghan authorities say five civilians were killed in two bomb attacks Tuesday.
Authorities say a roadside bomb in northern Jowzjan province killed three Afghan employees of a non-profit group working with the United Nations, called the Development and Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan. The employees were on the way to a shelter project site.
Afghan officials are blaming Taliban militants for the attack.
In central Afghanistan, officials say a suicide bomber killed two Afghan civilians in an attack on a convoy of international troops.
Officials say the attacker rammed a vehicle into the convoy Tuesday on a highway near Ghazni city. None of the international troops were hurt.
The French news agency says Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack.
Also, NATO forces say they have taken control of a Taliban stronghold after a major air operation in southern Helmand province. A NATO statement says more than 500 troops were involved in the offensive, which killed "a number of insurgents" during several counter-attacks.
U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered the deployment of 21,000 more troops and trainers to Afghanistan to fight the worsening Taliban insurgency and help with reconstruction.
Despite the arrival of more foreign troops, violence in the past year has risen to the highest levels since the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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