Father, two daughters dead in Panjwai blast

KANDAHAR CITY (PAN): A father and his two daughters were killed when an auto rickshaw they were travelling in struck a roadside bomb in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province, an official said on Thursday.

A third person was injured in the explosion that ripped through the three-wheeler rickshaw in Kakaran area, said Fazal Mohammad Ishaqzai, the town’s administrative head, who accused the Taliban of emplacing the improvised explosive device to target a newly-appointed local police official.

Elsewhere in the troubled town, three Taliban insurgents were killed and a fourth wounded during a security forces’ operation in Talukan area.

The counterinsurgency operation came after reports about the presence of insurgents in the area, said Javed Faisal, the governor’s spokesman.

He said the operation aimed at driving the armed rebels lasted several hours and came to an end with the deaths of three rebels and injuries to a fourth.

Civilians and security forces stayed unharmed during the offensive, the gubernatorial spokesman said.

Panjwai, which is 20 kilometres west of Kandahar City, has been a scene of various security incidents. 

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