34 Civilians Killed in Roadside Bomb in Western Afghanistan

A major roadside bombing early Wednesday has left at least 34 civilians dead in western Afghanistan’s Farah Province, and more than a dozen others badly wounded. The bomb on the highway to Kandahar was hit by a large busload of people.

Witnesses described the bus as erupting in an “inferno” in the bombing, and officials say tha many of the dead were burned beyond recognition. Many of the wounded are also suffering from severe burns, and are in critical condition.

Officials say this was a Taliban bombing, and it comes just a day after a UN report showed civilian deaths in Afghanistan have been on the rise throughout 2019. The UN report noted US and Afghan forces have been killing even more civilians than the Taliban.

In Afghanistan, civilian casualties caused by the Taliban are predominantly in roadside bombings like this, while the US and its allies tend to kill a lot of civilians in airstrikes. Either way, civilians are suffering badly from this protracted war.