An Afghan official says a truck bomb in central Afghanistan has killed at least 25 people, including at least 12 school children.
A local police chief said a truck loaded with wood appeared to be
deliberately turned over on a road in Logar province. He said attackers
remotely detonated explosives hidden in the truck Thursday as children
were walking to school.
At least a dozen students, four police officers and nine others were
killed in the blast. Militants frequently use roadside bombs against
foreign troops and Afghan forces, but the majority of victims have been
civilians.
Meanwhile, NATO forces in Afghanistan said a roadside bomb in the country's south killed two alliance soldiers on Wednesday.
A U.S. commander said in a separate announcement the 4,000 U.S. Marines
pursuing Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan have removed the
insurgents from a large section of Helmand province.
Brigadier General Larry Nicholson said Wednesday he has enough Marines
to complete the mission in Helmand, but that he urgently needs
thousands more Afghan troops who understand the communities and can
diagnose problems.
Currently, only about 650 Afghan troops are deployed with U.S.-led forces.
The U.S. general added that his Marines also need to assure local
residents and their leaders that the American forces will stay and keep
the Taliban out until Afghan forces are ready to do so.