Bus accident kills 35 people in south Afghanistan

[August 20, 2011]  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A passenger bus careened off a road in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing 35 people, officials said.

The packed bus was traveling through Kandahar province on its way to Kabul before losing control and crashing, said provincial spokesman Zalmai Ayubi. He said 27 people were injured in the crash.

Such accidents are common in Afghanistan, where roads and vehicles are often poorly maintained.

Also Saturday, a string of insurgent attacks across the country killed five people.

In the eastern province of Nangahar, a bomb in a rickshaw killed an Afghan intelligence agent and wounded four people, said provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai.

In Ghazni province, a roadside bomb killed two Afghan civilians and wounded two more, said Mohammad Hussian, deputy provincial police chief.

In the western province of Herat, another rickshaw bomb killed two Afghan soldiers and wounded three, said Afghan National Army spokesman Najibullah Majibi.

Also Saturday, the Afghan Interior Ministry released new details of the attack a day earlier on the British Council building in Kabul that killed eight people.

The ministry said two car bombs, one an explosives-packed sedan and the other a pickup truck, initiated the attack and blew a hole in the compound wall.

That opened the way for at least four insurgents hiding explosive vests, rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles, the ministry said.

Two of the bombers were killed by police; the other two detonated their explosives.

Eight people were killed in the attack, including four policemen, two Afghan security guards, and two foreign security guards. The ministry said 22 people were wounded, including a Nepalese citizen.

[Associated Press]

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