Children, police killed in rocket strike, blast

KUNDUZ CITY (Pajhwok): Five children were killed and four others injured in a rocket strike in northern Kunduz province while five policemen died in a roadside bombing in northwestern Badghis province, officials said Monday.

Residents said a rocket struck a residential building in the Lala Maidan area of Aliabad district at around 7am. District development council chief Haji Haikal told Pajhwok Afghan News four girls and a boy were killed and four others wounded.

The rocket was fired during a clash between militants and Afghan forces, he said, without blaming any side for the casualties. The victims were below 10 years of age and the injured were evacuated to the zonal hospital.

The injured included a 16 years old girl and two other children aged 10, he said, adding the rocket had been fired from the area where Afghan Local Police (ALP) members were operating.

Aliabad district chief, Mahboobullah Saeedi, said it remained unclear who had fired the rocket. A team had been appointed to investigate the incident, which left an ALP member injured.

Meanwhile, the Taliban also confirmed the clash and said the rocket had been fired by ALP members.

According to another report five policemen were killed and a sixth wounded in a roadside bombing in the Qadis district of Badghis province. Police spokesman Col Mohammad Qayyum Angar said the incident occurred in Khair Khana area late on Sunday.

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