Wedding guests killed in bomb attack on bus

Police said 16 people were wounded in yesterday’s incident.

The group was travelling to Dawlat Abad district, about 450 kilometres (270 miles) north-west of the capital, Kabul.

Six children and seven women were among the dead in the blast, which occurred at 6am after a night-time police patrol.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the attack. “Planting a mine on a road used by civilians and the killing of innocent people represents hostility toward humanity,” he said.

Earlier this month the UN Security Council expressed serious concern at the high number of civilian casualties in the war.

The Taliban and other militants are responsible for the vast majority of civilian deaths. About 77 per cent of the deaths between January and June can be attributed to insurgents, a UN report said.