News - Afghanistan

At least five Afghan policemen were killed in a roadside bomb blast in southern Uruzgan province on Saturday morning, local officials said.

One civilian was also wounded in the blast.

The incident took place in Chanartu district of Uruzgan today morning, deputy governor, Haji Khubirahim, said.

No group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Insurgents use Improvised Explosive Devices to target Afghan and foreign troops, but most of the victim are often civilians.

A UN report recently said that more than 3,021 Afghans have been killed in 2011 conflict.

The deaths in 2011 compared with 2,790 in 2010 and 2,412 in 2009 showed that most of the deaths were caused by insurgents, according to the report.

It was the fifth straight year that the toll had risen, with a total of 11,864 civilian lives claimed by the conflict since 2007.

Taliban-led insurgents caused 77 percent of the deaths last year, up to 14 percent from 2010, while Nato-led and Afghan government forces were responsible for killing 410 civilians -14 percent of the total, it added.