Bus bomb kills 14 in Afghanistan

It came after the defence ministry accused NATO of killing four Afghan soldiers in an air strike in a Taliban flashpoint in the south of the country,the deadliest zone for US-led troops fighting the nine-year insurgency.

Another four people were injured in the bus attack and two further roadside bombs were later found and defused in the same area,Herat provincial spokesman Rafi Behrozyan told AFP.

“The incident took place in Kushki Kuhna district at 11:00 (0630 GMT). As a result 14 passengers,all members of an extended family,were killed,” he added. “This is the work of the Taliban.” Roadside bombs,also known as improvised explosive devices (IEDs),are frequently used by the Taliban,which is waging a nine-year insurgency in the country,to deadly effect.

The crude home-made devices are responsible for the bulk of military deaths in Afghanistan as well as many civilian casualties.

In the south,the Afghan defence ministry said four soldiers died overnight in a NATO air strike in the province of Helmand.

“Initial reports we have indicate that an air strike last night killed four Afghan National Army soldiers who were on a patrol mission in Musa Qala district,” spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was looking into what happened but could not confirm the deaths.

“The incident occurred after a combined Afghan and ISAF patrol came under small arms fire from insurgents,” it said in a statement.

“The patrol called for a close air support mission in which a coalition aircraft positively identified the insurgent firing position and conducted an air strike.” More than 140,000 foreign troops,mostly from the United States,are based in Afghanistan battling the Taliban,which has been waging an insurgency since being ousted by a US invasion in 2001.

The new US policy review today said President Barack Obama’s Afghan troop surge had made progress in curbing the Taliban and severely weakening al-Qaeda,but US gains were not yet durable and sustainable.