Roadside bombs kill 23 in south Afghanistan - officials

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/29/uk-afghanistan-violence-idUKTRE76S18I20110729

(Reuters) - Roadside mines killed 23 civilians in southern Afghanistan on Friday when a minibus and a tractor separately struck explosives in Helmand province, officials said.

The minibus was travelling from Nahr-e-Saraj district to the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah when it hit a mine and all 19 people inside were killed, said Kamaludden, head of the National Directorate of Security in Helmand.

When security forces arrived at the scene they were attacked by Taliban insurgents, said Hekmatullah Akmal, a highway police commander.

He said it appeared at least 17 people had been killed, but the devastation caused by the blast made it difficult to determine how many people had been on the bus.