Afghan Roadside Bomb Kills 17 Wedding Party Guests

17 wedding guests, the majority women and children, were killed in one fell swoop as they drove their minibus to a party in a village in western Afghanistan. The bus was ripped apart by a roadside bomb planted by the Taliban. Aimed at killing NATO troops, the militants seem to have no problem with the fact that those roadside bombs also manage to kill innocent civilians. What the heck, they have no respect for women or children anyway, so no loss there.

According to police chief Aqa Noor Kintoz, four men, one child and nine women were also wounded.

And the Afghans and the West really think the Taliban are willing to talk?  The amount of civilian casualties during the first half of this year is outrageous.

In the first six months of 2012, a total of 1,145 Afghan civilians were killed and around 2,000 were wounded, mostly by roadside bombs, according to United Nations figures.

Women and children accounted for about 30 percent of this year’s casualties.

Earlier this week a mother and her newborn baby were among six family members killed in a roadside bombing in eastern Afghanistan.

The victims were heading home from the hospital after the mother had given birth when the bomb planted by Taliban insurgents tore through their vehicle in eastern Khost province.

And little more than a week ago, a roadside bomb killed 10 civilians, including women and a child, heading for a wedding party in southern Afghanistan.

If they had more respect for human life, there might be some hope, but that's obviously not the case.