15 civilians killed in N. Afghan bomb explosion

Fifteen civilians, including seven women and six children, were killed and two others wounded after a roadside bomb explosion struck a vehicle in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province on Wednesday, a provincial government spokesman said.

The vehicle was on a road in Khimchal locality of Imam Sahib district from neighboring Khan Abad district before touching off an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on Wednesday evening, spokesman Esmatullah Muradi told Xinhua.

The bodies and the two wounded were shifted to a district hospital and the next of kin of the victims were notified, the official said, blaming Taliban militants for planting the IED on the dusty road.

More than 2,560 civilians were killed and over 5,670 others injured in conflict-related incidents in Afghanistan in the first nine months of this year, according to figures released by the United Nations mission in the country.

Women and children were heavily affected by conflict-related violence, as the UN mission logged 923 women casualties and 2,461 child casualties in the first nine months of this year.