Blast in southern Afghanistan kills 18, wounds 5

At least 18 people including 14 women were killed as a vehicle carrying wedding guests struck a roadside bomb in the Andar district of southern Ghazni province of Afghanistan, said officials. According to Ghazni police Chief Colonel Ghulam Mohiuddin, whose remarks were picked up here, the incident took place when the wedding guests were traveling in a vehicle to Sahib Khan village. The vehicle carried 23 people out of which 18 were killed and five others were wounded, he added. The Andar district chief, Mohammad Qasim Desiwal also confirmed the incident and said that 14 women, three men and a child were among the dead. Police officials said people were going to attend a wedding ceremony in the village and the vehicle was completely destroyed due to the intensity of the blast. The wounded people were shifted to the nearby Ghazni Civil Hospital for treatment where two women succumbed to their injuries. Afghanistan would face a major transition, as foreign NATO/ISAF forces will leave the country at the end of 2014. The US want to keep as many as 10,000 troops in the country after 2014 to train Afghan national security forces after signing Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). The Afghan president has forwarded the approval of BSA to the Loya Jirga, or a national meeting of tribal elders, that will take place in the third week of November to discuss the fate of a future security deal with the US for keeping troops in Afghanistan.