Twenty-nine people killed in three Taliban attacks in Afghanistan

Article published on the 2009-05-04 Latest update 2009-05-05 06:27 TU

A US Marine on patrol in Golestan district, Farah province on 3 May
(Photo: Reuters)

At least twenty-nine people died in three separate attacks claimed by the Taliban on Monday in Afghanistan. Among them was a Mayor from Laghman province, as well as a number of civilians.

A bomb blast and a separate militant attack in southern Afghanistan on Monday killed 20 people, including 14 civilians, as well as police officers and a government official.

Twelve people in a group of Kuchi nomads travelling by tractor and trailer in Zabul province, were killed by a bomb. There has been no claim of responsibility so far. 

The Zabul province deputy police chief  however blamed Taliban fighters for a separate attack on a construction site near the provincial capital, Qalat. Workers at the site are repairing bridges destroyed in previous militant raids.

He said that six security guards protecting the workers were killed in the shoot-out along with two civilian passers-by.

The Taliban were in power between 1996 and 2001 and are waging an insurgency against the current government. They warned last week that they would step up attacks on government officials as well as on Afghan soldiers and the nearly 70,000 international troops who support them.

In a third attack, earlier in the day, that was claimed by the Taliban, a mayor, three bodyguards and three civilians were killed in Laghman, a province in the east of Afghanistan, near the capital Kabul.

The mayor was responsible for municipal and public projects for the province.

In other news, a cross-party group of Afghan lawmakers is to visit both parts of Ireland this week to study the island's peace process.

In Dublin and Belfast they will be tackling issues such as power-sharing, policing and community relations.

Ireland's Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said, "We are conscious that each country must find its own path to peace, and that there is no correct one-size-fits-all path".

He added however that "we hope to play our part [in international support that brings about peace] through sharing our experiences of conflict and peace-making with others."