Five Afghan civilians, four of them children, were killed in an explosion today, while gunmen shot dead a South African construction contractor and his Afghan colleague in a separate attack, officials said.
One member of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was also killed in an explosion in the south of the country, the force said, without identifying the victim's nationality.
The blast that killed the civilians struck in Kapisa province, to the northeast of Kabul, ISAF said in a statement. Three other children were also wounded, the alliance said.
It did not give details about the type of explosion, saying it was caused by insurgents who are fighting the Afghan government and foreign troops.
The South African and one of his Afghan colleagues, both employees of an Indian road construction firm, were killed by armed men in a southeastern area, Sakhi Jan, an Afghan commander providing security for the firm said.
An Indian and an Afghan worker from the company were wounded in the attack, which took place on a project site in Khost province, close to the border with Pakistan.
Reuters