Kabul, Jan 19 (IANS): Three Afghan youths were killed while playing football and four injured when a rocket fired by the Taliban landed in the country's Kandahar province Saturday.
"Three footballers were killed and four injured as the rocket fired by the Taliban hit a football in Maiwound district at around 5.45 p.m. Saturday," Xinhua quoted provincial government spokesperson Jawid Faisal as saying.
The Kandahar province is a known Taliban hotbed.
Earlier Saturday, three civilians and four policemen were wounded when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attached to a bicycle went off in neighbouring Spin Boldak district.
Over 2,500 Afghan civilians were killed and more than 5,000 wounded in Taliban-led attacks and violence last year, according to Afghan and UN assistance mission officials to Afghanistan.