12 Afghan civilians, 1 NATO service member die in explosions in eastern Afghanistan

12 Afghan civilians, 1 NATO service member killed

KABUL, Afghanistan — Roadside bombings killed 12 Afghan civilians and a NATO service member in increasingly volatile eastern Afghanistan, officials said Friday.

NATO did not disclose the nationality or provide other details about the death of the service member Friday. But the Polish Defense Ministry said the dead soldier was a Pole killed by a roadside bomb in Ghazni province that also injured five other Polish service members.

Nine civilians were killed Thursday by a remote-controlled bomb in the Bar Kunar district of Kunar province, according to Gen. Khalilullah Zaiyi, provincial police chief. Three civilians were killed and others were wounded in a different blast Thursday in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, NATO said.

In the south, Malak Janan, a tribal chief in Kandahar province’s Dand district, and his son were killed Thursday night when gunmen entered their home and shot them, according to Zelmai Ayubi, a spokesman for the provincial governor. The motive was unclear.

NATO said Afghan-led security forces detained several suspected insurgents Thursday in neighboring Helmand province where they were tracking two Taliban district commanders in charge of Garmser and Naway-i-Barakzayi districts.

One force targeted a compound in search of the militant commander for Garmser district, who directs attacks against coalition forces and runs weapons and supplies for Taliban fighters. Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to ask residents to leave their buildings and, after questioning, the assault force detained several suspected insurgents.

A separate security force went to Marjah district looking for the Nawah-i-Barakzayi district commander, who recently returned from Pakistan, NATO said. The force captured three men who tried to escape a compound by maneuvering through a nearby canal. The assault force detained several suspected insurgents and found five pounds (2.3 kilograms) of opium at the scene.