UN mission in Afghanistan condemns killing of 17 civilian in two attacks

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan on Thursday strongly condemned two separate attacks in the country which left 17 civilians dead.

"The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) strongly condemns yesterday's killing of at least 17 civilians in two separate attacks for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility," it said in a statement.

An attack against civilians gathered for a cultural event in the Park Palace hotel in Kabul killed 14 civilians and injured several others. A further three civilians were killed and another two injured in an attack on the Department of Haj and Religious Endowment in Lashkar Gah, capital of southern Helmand province, according to statement.

Among the killed in Kabul attack were one U.S. woman, four Indian and an Italian, according to official sources. Three police were also killed and five police personnel wounded in Helmand's shooting attack.

"These deliberate attacks on civilians are atrocities," Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA's Human Rights Director, was quoted as saying in the statement.

"Taliban statements on avoiding civilian casualties ring hollow when we set them against the latest killings. The Taliban should abide by their commitments and immediately stop deliberately attacking civilians," she said.

Some 974 civilian were killed while 1,963 injured in the first four month of the year, a 16 percent increase over the same period last year, the UNAMA statement noted.

"(The) UNAMA extends its condolences to the families of all of those killed and injured in the 13 May attacks," the statement noted. Endi