20 civilians killed in 24 hours in Afghanistan as violence lingers

Kabul [Afghanistan], May 20 (ANI/Xinhua): A total of 20 civilians including women and children have been killed in violent incidents in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, officials said Thursday.
In the latest waves of violence, a roadside bomb blast in the western Ghor province on Thursday afternoon killed four persons from the same family, provincial government spokesman Zalmay Karimi said.
"Four members of a family including father, mother and their two children were riding a motorbike towards their home in Kharak area but unfortunately a mine planted by militants struck the motorbike killing all the four on the spot," Karimi told Xinhua.
It was the second blast of its kind since Wednesday that claimed the lives of civilians in the troubled Ghor province.
In another incident, an explosive device went off outside Ghor's provincial capital Firoz Koah on Wednesday night killing three civilians and injuring three others, Karimi said.
The province also witnessed the execution of civilian passengers on Thursday as unidentified armed militants intercepted a car and gunned down three passengers after checking the commuters, the official confirmed with Xinhua.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb struck a civilian van, leaving 10 people including women and children dead and injuring two others outside the southern Helmand's provincial capital Lashkar Gah on Thursday morning, the police confirmed. (ANI/Xinhua)