United Nations, July 15 (IANS): UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the recent attacks in Afghanistan in which 59 people, including women and children, were killed and more than 40 others injured, an official statement here said.

The heinous attacks in Khost and Baghlan provinces and Kabul city during the first fortnight of July occurred near public assembly places, including a bazaar, as well as mosques where civilians had gathered to pray, Xinhua reported, citing the statement issued on Tuesday.

The secretary-general expressed his solidarity with the people of Afghanistan in the face of such attacks. He conveyed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wished a swift recovery to those injured.

At least 33 people were killed in a suicide car bomb attack near a military base in Afghanistan's Khost Province on Sunday, according to media reports. At least 12 of those killed were children, according to the United Nations.

Another attack on Monday deliberately targeted crowds at a mosque in Baghlan Province where in an improvised explosive device blast more than 40 civilians were wounded, according to local media.

Earlier, two people were killed and 26 others, including two US soldiers, were injured in a Taliban suicide attack targeting a NATO convoy on June 30.

Ban called for the people responsible for the attacks to be brought to justice.

The conflict between Afghanistan government forces and Taliban insurgents since their hardline Islamist regime was toppled in 2001 has claimed thousands of lives, with the number of civilian victims on the rise in recent years.