Roadside bombs kill 5 in Afghanistan

Provincial officials say 2 separate roadside bomb attacks have killed 5 Afghan civilians in the eastern and southern parts of the country. Shafiqullah Nang, who is spokesman for the eastern province of Ghazni, said 3 civilians died on Saturday when their minivan was struck by a roadside bomb as they were driving from Dayak district to Ghazni city.

He says that another eight people were wounded, including 2 women and 2 children.

In a second explosion, Fared Ayal, a spokesman for the police chief of southern Uruzgan province, said 2 men died when their car ran over a bomb on Saturday.

Roadside bombs are the number one cause of civilian deaths in Afghanistan, and casualties have risen as insurgents step up attacks as foreign troops withdraw.