Roadside bombs kill 12 civilians in Afghanistan: officials

Kabul

At least 12 civilians were killed in twin roadside bomb blasts in Afghanistan, officials said yesterday, blaming the attacks on the Taliban as the militants intensify their summer offensive.

A roadside bomb ripped through a passenger van on Saturday in Tagab district of Kapisa, an often restive province in the mountains east of the Afghan capital Kabul, killing 10 civilians and wounding six others, provincial officials said.

"A civilian van travelling from Kabul to Alasay district of Kapisa hit a roadside bomb planted by the Taliban," Qais Qaderi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said.

"Ten civilians, all men, were killed. Three children and three women were wounded," he said.