Thirty dead as bus crashes into truck left by Taliban
Thirty people on board a bus were killed when their vehicle crashed into the wreckage of a truck that had been attacked by Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan, officials said.
The battered truck had been left in the middle of a narrow road on the border of Helmand and Kandahar provinces for several days after insurgents opened fire on it.
Police considered the area too dangerous to enter, the officials said.
Early today, the bus crashed into the truck and both vehicles burst into flames, badly burning many of the bus passengers, said Abdul Razaq, the provincial police chief of Kandahar.
Mr Razaq said eight passengers were injured. Omar Zawak, the governor’s spokesman in Helmand province, put the injury total at 11.
Both said the casualties included men, women and children.
The bus began its journey in the capital of Helmand province and was scheduled to stop in Kandahar city, then travel north to Kabul, the Afghan capital, Mr Razaq said.
