Kabul, December 30: At least 14 Afghan civilians have been killed and several others injured in a roadside bombing in the southern province of Helmand.
The bomb triggered by militants went off in a crowded area of the Nahr-e Saraj district on Thursday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan authorities confirmed, the Associated Press reported.
The blast took place when a minivan hit the bomb, said Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
Afghan security and ISAF forces were dispatched to the scene of the blast to provide medical assistance and evacuate the injured.
Helmand is one of the Taliban stronghold provinces in Afghanistan.
The security situation has not improved in the war-ravaged country despite the presence of 150,000 US and NATO soldiers.
In the face of growing Afghan civilian casualties in US-led military operations, the Afghan government has recently renewed calls for the prevention of civilian deaths.
Civilian casualties have been a frequent source of tensions between Kabul and the foreign forces.
The United Nations says the death toll of Afghan civilians this year is 20 percent higher than in 2009, with over 2,400 civilians killed in the country from January to September.
—-Agencies