Road side bomb kills five in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A roadside bomb Sunday claimed the lives of five Afghans, including one child, in southern Afghanistan.

The chief of the Panjwayee district in southern Afghanistan said Taliban militants planted the bomb to target Afghan and NATO forces, although the Taliban did claim responsibility for the blast, the Kuwaiti News Agency, KUNA, said Sunday.

NATO and Afghan forces cleared two southern Afghan districts of suspected Taliban militants in 2007 but militants are increasingly using roadside bombs in the region, KUNA said.