Afghan floods kill 10, destroy hundreds of homes

Afghan floods kill 10, destroy hundreds of homes

KABUL — Heavy rain sent floodwaters tearing through villages in northeast Afghanistan, killing at least 10 people and destroying hundreds of homes, police said Monday.

The floods overnight and early Monday tore down homes that were built into the sides of mountains in Pul-e-Khumri district in Baghlan province, about 150 kilometers (95 miles) north of the capital, Kabul, police said in a statement.

Also Monday, a roadside bomb struck a car in southeastern Afghanistan, killing two civilians a day after an insurgent rocket killed four other civilians, authorities said.

Monday’s bombing happened in Zabul province, said Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, a spokesman for the provincial governor. On Sunday, an insurgent rocket — apparently fired at a NATO convoy — missed its target and hit a civilian vehicle in southern Helmand province, killing four people, provincial government spokesman Daoud Ahmadi said.

The civilian deaths — a highly sensitive issue in Afghanistan — come as President Hamid Karzai meets Monday with American officials in Washington, with violence and insecurity high on the agenda. Karzai’s trip comes after months of rocky relations with the Obama administration.

At least 2,412 Afghan civilians were killed in fighting last year — up 14 percent from 2008, according to the United Nations. About two-thirds of the civilian deaths were a result of actions initiated by the insurgents. The percentage of civilian deaths attributed to NATO and Afghan government forces had dropped.

NATO said Monday that one of its service members died in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan. The alliance gave no further details of the attack that happened Sunday.

The death brings to 12 the number of NATO forces killed this month in Afghanistan.

The Interior Ministry also reported that a roadside bomb struck a police vehicle in Helmand Sunday, killing four officers.