Three civilians among 17 killed in Afghan violence

KABUL - A roadside bomb killed two policemen and three civilians Saturday in southern Afghanistan, while soldiers killed 12 insurgents in the north, officials said.

The bomb was remotely detonated in Deh Rawood district of Uruzgan province as police vehicle was passing, Juma Gul Hemat, the provincial police chief, said.

“The explosion killed three civilians and two policemen and injured one more policeman,” Hemat told DPA.

Afghan and NATO troops killed 12 suspected Taliban early Saturday near the capital of Kunduz province, governor Mohammad Omar said.

Taliban field commander Mullah Abdul Razaq was among those killed, he said. Razaq was blamed for several roadside attacks in the province, including two that killed three US soldiers this month.

US and German troops have intensified operation in Kunduz, where militants are more active than in other provinces of the relatively peaceful northern region.