Six Afghan Civilians Killed By Roadside Bomb

A minivan lies ruined at the site of a roadside bombing in Kabul on August 7.

Six Afghan civilians have been killed and another injured when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

Authorities said Taliban insurgents had planted the bomb.

Helmand police spokesman Farid Ahmad Farhang told AFP that women and children were among the victims.

The victims were traveling in the Musa Qala district of the restive province.

Roadside bombs are a favorite weapon of Taliban militants fighting government forces and their NATO backers.

But they often miss military targets and kill civilians.

The latest deaths come two days after a report by the United Nations said more than 3,000 civilians had been killed and wounded in the first six months of this year.

The UN blamed 80 percent of the deaths on insurgents, saying more than half were caused by roadside bombs.

Based on reporting by AFP and BBC