Roadside bomb kills 5 civilians in N. Afghanistan

Xinhua, February 3, 2011

Five civilians were killed as a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Kudnuz province 250 km north of Afghan capital on Thursday, police said.

"The tragic incident happened in Gortipa district at around 10: 00 a.m. local time today as a result five innocent people including two men and three children were martyred,"deputy to provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Haqtash told Xinhua.

The mine had left over from the past wars, he added.

Meantime, a local who introduced himself Mohammad Aman said that there more people were injured in the blast.

Gortipa had been the scene of fierce fighting between Taliban and security forces until early January and according to locals numerous anti-personnel mines and explosive devices had been left over from the past conflicts there.