Roadside bomb kills 8 Afghan civilians: local official

Eight civilians including a newly-wed groom were killed today by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, a local officials said.

"The latest reports show that eight people including a woman, a child and a groom were killed in the blast," said Laghman provincial spokesman Faizanullah Patan.

The victims, which also included a woman and a child, were killed in the eastern province of Laghman when their car was blown up as they returned home after the man's wedding party late yesterday.

Laghman province is located towards the border with Pakistan. It has long been troubled by insurgents, particularly the Hezb-e-Islami faction led by former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

"They had a wedding party last night and were going to their home" when the blast struck in the district of Alingar at around 10am (0530 GMT), he added.

The United Nations has said the number of civilians killed in the first half of this year rose 15 per cent to 1,462, with insurgents responsible for 80 per cent of the deaths.

Last week, Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar issued a statement to mark Eid al-Adha calling on insurgents to reduce civilian casualties.

However, human rights group Amnesty International condemned the call as "hypocritical", saying it was "more about propaganda and less about actually protecting civilians".

Control of security in Laghman's provincial capital, Mehtar Lam, was handed from foreign to Afghan government forces in the first wave of transition in July.