Bomb kills five Afghan civilians

A roadside bomb tore through a vehicle in south-eastern Afghanistan on Friday, killing five civilians, police said. The attack happened at midday (0730 GMT) in the volatile district of Garda Seerai district in Paktya province on the border with Pakistan, provincial police chief Zalmai Oryakheil told AFP.
"The vehicle has been totally destroyed," Oryakheil said, blaming the Taliban. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but similar attacks are usually blamed on Taliban insurgents fighting to overthrow the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai. The United Nations says 1,145 civilians were killed in the war in the first six months of this year, blaming 80 percent of the deaths on insurgents, with more than half caused by roadside bombs. The bulk of 130,000 US-led Nato troops helping to fight the Taliban are due to leave by the end of 2014.