Roadside bomb kills 10 civilians in Afghanistan

KABUL: A roadside bomb exploded under a passenger van in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 10 people, most of them women and children, government officials said.

Eight people were wounded in the blast in the Deh Rawood district of Uruzgan province, President Hamid Karzai's office said in a statement. The Interior Ministry said 14 people were wounded.

"Innocent peoples' blood will not be wasted and terrorists will be shamed in this world and hereafter," Karzai said in the statement.

Violence has been increasing across the country as an end of 2014 deadline approaches for most foreign combat troops to leave, putting the 350,000-strong Afghan security forces in control.

Civilians have borne the brunt of much of the violence in the 11-year conflict. A roadside bomb in the relatively peaceful province of Farah killed 17 people and wounded nine on November 16.

Most of the victims in Farah were also women and children, driving in a van as part of a wedding procession.

Three people were killed and more than 90 wounded on Friday, including several foreign soldiers, in a truck bombing in Wardak province near Kabul. Most of the casualties were civilians.