18 Afghan civilians killed in roadside bomb

18 Afghan civilians were killed on Friday by a roadside bomb in the Nahri Sarraj district of volatile Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. Afghan commander Sayed Malook said a vehicle was travelling to the provincial capital Lashkar Gah when it was hit. "Today at around 09:00 am, an IED (improvised explosive device) went off on a passenger mini-van in Nahri Sarraj district while en route to Lashkar Gah city," said Malook, from 205 Maiwand Army corps in Helmand province. Violence against civilians is at a record-high in the war, with more than 1,400 Afghan civilians killed in the conflict this year, up 15 percent on the first half of 2010, according to a recently released United Nations report. According to the UN, insurgents are responsible for 80 percent of civilian casualties with 14 percent due to NATO and Afghan forces.