Roadside Bomb Kills At Least Two Civilians In Eastern Afghanistan

At least two Afghan civilians were killed by a roadside bomb in the eastern province of Laghman early on December 25, a local official said.

The incident took place near a shrine in Mihterlam, the provincial capital, said Sarhadi Zwak, a spokesman for the Laghman provincial governor.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Taliban militants routinely use roadside bombs to target Afghan security forces and government officials -- with civilians often caught in the crossfire.

The UN mission in Afghanistan says it has documented 8,397 conflict-related civilian casualties in the country between January 1 and September 30 this year.

The figures include 2,562 deaths, a slight decrease compared to the same period in 2015.

The UN mission said militant attacks were responsible for more than 60 percent of the civilian casualties in the Afghan conflict.

Based on reporting by AP and khaama.com