2nd LD Writethru: UN chief slams deadly attacks on civilians in Afghanistan

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday condemned bomb attacks in civilian-populated areas in the Afghan capital Kabul and Badakhshan in north Afghanistan on Monday, which killed at least 22 people.

"The suicide attack in a crowded area killed and injured a number of Nepalese contractors, including diplomatic security guards, as well as Afghan civilians," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric at a daily news briefing here.

The UN chief conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims in the two separate bomb attacks and the governments of Afghanistan and Nepal, said Dujarric, adding "He calls on all those responsible for these indiscriminate attacks to be brought to justice."

On Monday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemned the bomb attacks.

"The mission has reiterated its call for anti-government elements, including the Taliban, to immediately cease all attacks in civilian-populated areas and any attacks deliberately targeting civilians, including attacks against diplomatic facilities and personnel," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, told reporters here Monday.

The death toll included at least 14 when a suicide bomber struck a minibus carrying Nepalese security contractors in the capital Kabul, reports said on Monday.

Hours later, a second bomb attack killed at least eight civilians and wounded 18 others in a crowded market in Badakhshan, said the reports.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the Kabul attack in a statement from the Islamist group's main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, on Twitter. However, it denied responsibility for the attack in Badakhshan. Enditem