Roadside bomb kills nine in Afghanistan

KABUL - Nine civilians, including women and children, were killed by a roadside bomb Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, a police official said.

The explosion occurred in Lakhan, a remote village in Khost province, provincial deputy police chief Yaqub Khan said.

“Three men, two women and four children were martyred in the blast,” he said. “An investigation is under way.”

A week earlier, seven civilians and a police officer were killed in a suicide bombing in the same province.

Violence is on the rise throughout the country as both foreign troops and Taliban militants increase their operations.