Bombs kill 20 in Afghanistan

Twenty, including 11 Afghan construction workers, were killed on Sunday in separate bomb blasts similar to those carried out by Taliban insurgents in violence-plagued Afghanistan, authorities said.

Twenty, including 11 Afghan construction workers, were killed on Sunday in separate bomb blasts similar to those carried out by Taliban insurgents in violence-plagued Afghanistan, authorities said.

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“They were Afghan civilians working as road workers, engineers and supervisors for a company doing various construction work in the district," police spokesman Abdul Ghafoor said.

In a separate incident, nine people including four police officers were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up near a police station.

Seventeen others including soldiers and civilians were injured in the bombings in Helmand, interior ministry spokesman said.

‘Indian role in Kabul crucial’

Stating that India has a crucial role to play in rebuilding Afghanistan, a former top US official has said it would be a "major mistake" to prevent New Delhi from contributing to the development of the war-ravaged country at the insistence of Pakistan.

“I don't think we can afford to turn down assistance from great countries like India. India has a major role to play in Afghanistan,” former US Under Secretary of state for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns said.