Explosions kill six Afghan children, five Nato troops

Explosives hidden in a trash heap killed six children in southern Afghanistan on Friday, police said, and five Nato troops were killed in roadside bombings in the volatile region. The children were rummaging through the trash for food scraps and bottles in the southern province of Uruzgon when the blast killed them, police spokesman said. A civilicn man also died in the blast.
Four other children were wounded by the explosion in Trinkot, the provincial capital about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south-west of Kabul. The UN estimates improvised bombs and suicide attacks accounted for half of nearly 1,500 civilian deaths in the first six months of last year, the most recent statistics.
Elsewhere in the south, four Nato troops died in one of Friday's bombings, and one was killed in a separate blast. The alliance said both incidents occurred in southern Afghanistan but provided no further details. It did not identify the troops or disclose what countries they came from. Roadside bombs are a favourite weapon of Taliban insurgents against coalition troops.