Roadside bomb kills 12 in Afghanistan’s Paktika province

KABUL – An Afghan official says at least 12 civilians were killed and three others wounded when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the eastern Paktika province.

Elias Wahdat, the provincial governor, said Thursday that the blast took place in the Urgun district at around 11 a.m.

“The blast was very powerful,” said Wahdat, noting that it killed all 12 passengers aboard the vehicle and wounded three others.

Wahdat added that seven of those killed were madrassa (religious school) students, and that the roadside bomb was planted by the Taliban.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban insurgents often use roadside mines to target convoys carrying security forces across the country.