MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th June, 2020) Six civilians have been killed and two more suffered injuries in a roadside bomb blast in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, the country's Pajhwok news agency reports on Sunday.
According to the agency, the blast took place in the province's Washir district. Women and children are among the victims, the agency said.
Afghanistan's National Security Council said on Saturday that a total of 51 civilians were either killed or injured by the Taliban over the past week. On the same day, two employees of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission were killed after an improvised explosive device blast in Kabul.
Despite the signing of a peace deal back in February between the Taliban and the United States, bomb blasts and armed clashes continue to ravage Afghanistan. The agreement was intended to pave the way for the beginning of peace negotiations between the militant organization and the government in Kabul, although these have yet to materialize.
Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, said on Wednesday that the country's government is ready to begin talks with the Taliban at any time.
