3 children die in market bombing in Afghanistan

Three children were killed when a bomb attached to a motorbike went off in a market in the Western Afghan province of Herat on Saturday, an official said.
According to provincial governor’s spokesman Jelani Farhad, another 21 people were wounded in the incident which took place in Oba district.
Earlier in the day Farhad spoke of five people killed, but then revised the toll to three.
According to Farhad, the explosive went off in the district’s central market when many locals were present.
“The target of the bombing is yet to be determined, but the district chief was wounded in the incident,’’ Farhad added.
Spokesman for Nangarhar province Ataullah Khogyani said in Kama district, five people including three civilians were wounded when an unknown man lobbed a hand grenade at a police checkpoint.
According to a quarterly report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), explosive devices killed 53 civilians and left 269 others injured in the first three months of this year, a 21-per-cent increase on the same period in 2018.
The figures do not include casualties from suicide bombings.
UNAMA said it is “very concerned” by the increase in civilian casualties from the use of non-suicide improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
The bombs are laid by militants to hamper the movement and progress of Afghan forces, however, they frequently harm civilians. (dpa/NAN)