Roadside bomb kills 8 people in western Afghanistan

At least eight family members were killed in a roadside bombing in the Shindand district of western Herat province of Afghanistan on Wednesday, said officials. The district administrative chief, Noor Mohammad Zarifi in a statement said that the explosion occurred in the Zerkoh village where security forces launched a clearing operation against militants a couple of days ago. He added that the civilians wanted to flee the operation in a rickshaw that struck the powerful roadside bomb killing all on the board. Moreover, over 200 families fled homes after a clash between heavily armed militants and security forces raged on in southern Ghazni province of Afghanistan since Tuesday. The district chief, Mahbobullah Sabawoon claimed that over 50 militants were killed after nearly 300 militants launched attacks on Afghan forces in Purdil and Janan villages of Gilan district. Taliban militants also claimed that a large number of security forces were killed during the clashes, said media reports. The Afghan National Army has paced up activities against the Taliban rebels as NATO/ISAF troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan till end of the year.