Six Afghan Civilians Killed In Roadside Bomb Blast

KABUL — A roadside bomb has killed at least six Afghan civilians and wounded two others in the southern province of Helmand, officials say.

The explosion took place in Washer district on June 28, according to provincial police spokesman Zaman Hamdard.

He said those killed and wounded including women and children.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Hamdard blamed the Taliban.

Violence had dropped across much of the country after the Taliban offered a brief cease-fire to mark the Eid al-Fitr festival last month, but officials say the insurgents have stepped up attacks in recent weeks.

On June 27, two people working for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) were killed when a homemade device attached to their vehicle exploded in Kabul.

It came less than a week after two prosecutors and three other employees from the Attorney General’s Office were shot dead by gunmen on the outskirts of the Afghan capital.

Earlier this month, an Afghan-based affiliate of the Islamic State extremist group took credit for a bombing at a mosque in Kabul that killed two people, including the prayer leader.