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| Roadside bomb kills 19 civilians in south Afghanistan | Roadside bomb kills 19 civilians in south Afghanistan |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| At least 19 Afghan civilians have been killed by a roadside bomb in southern Helmand province, said officials. | At least 19 Afghan civilians have been killed by a roadside bomb in southern Helmand province, said officials. |
| The incident occurred in the province's volatile Sangin district - a Taliban stronghold - Helmand spokesman Daud Ahmadi said. | |
| The dead are said to include women and children, many from the same family. | The dead are said to include women and children, many from the same family. |
| The deaths come amid mourning for 59 people, mainly Shia worshippers, who were killed in twin bomb attacks in the country on Tuesday. | The deaths come amid mourning for 59 people, mainly Shia worshippers, who were killed in twin bomb attacks in the country on Tuesday. |
| President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday cut short a trip to Europe to return to Kabul, where he will visit people wounded or bereaved in the worst incident - the suicide bombing of a Shia shrine on the holiest day of the Shia calendar, which killed 55. | |
| Coupled with a smaller bombing in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the attacks have raised fears that the violence in Afghanistan may be taking on a new sectarian character. | Coupled with a smaller bombing in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the attacks have raised fears that the violence in Afghanistan may be taking on a new sectarian character. |
| An investigation is under way, security officials confirm. | |
| Roadside toll | |
| "Nineteen people including seven women and five children have been killed" in Wednesday's attack, Helmand province security force commander Mohammad Ismail told Reuters news agency. | |
| "The seven women are from the same family. Five people have been injured," he added. | |
| The injured were being treated at a Nato base, another report said. | |
| There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but this is a common occurrence with roadside bombs, which are usually blamed on Taliban-led insurgents. | |
| According to the UN, 1,462 Afghan civilians were killed in the first six months of 2011, a 15% jump over the same period in 2010. | |
| Many bereaved relatives in Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif were burying their dead from Tuesday's bombings in emotional scenes on Wednesday. | |
| In western Kabul, a group of mourners carried four bodies in a procession through the city's main Shia cemetery, AP news agency reported. | |
| "They are martyrs! We honour them!" they shouted. | |
| One US citizen was among those killed from the Kabul bombing, the US embassy confirmed - saying the victim was not a government employee but refusing to divulge further details. | |
| 'Unbelievable' | |
| One of those mourning told AP said no place felt safe any more. | |
| "Killing Muslims in front of a holy shrine, it is unbelievable," said Mohammad Nahim, 35. | |
| "Last night I told my children not to visit any shrines after dark. It is too dangerous." | |
| He said graphic images of mounds of bodies had been shown on television as his family was eating dinner the night before and they all started crying. | |
| "The man who owned the shop on my street corner, the man I bought vegetables from, he was killed in the attack," Mr Nahim said. | |
| As well as visiting the wounded and bereaved, President Karzai would hold an emergency meeting with security chiefs on the violence, reports said. | |
| On Tuesday, he said it was the first time such an attack had taken place on such an important religious date in the calendar. | |
| Observers say the attack has raised fears of a new phase of sectarian conflict similar to those in Pakistan or Iraq. | |
| The Taliban have denied any role in the attack, and some Afghan officials are pointing the finger at Pakistan-based militant groups. |