AFGHANISTAN: Sixteen civilians die in roadside bombing

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REPORTING FROM KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -- A roadside bomb killed 16 Afghan civilians, 11 of them children, as the group was returning Tuesday from an engagement party in western Afghanistan, provincial officials said.

Authorities in Herat province, near the Iranian border, said an improvised explosive device, or IED, detonated when the minibus the group was riding in ran over it.

The United Nations says record numbers of Afghan civilians died in the first half of this year. The bulk of civilian casualties are blamed on insurgents. IEDs and suicide bombings are the biggest killers.

Herat province is considered a relatively peaceful part of Afghanistan. Security control of its capital, Herat city, was handed over to Afghan forces during the summer.

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-- Laura King