Eight security guards died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan, while two civilians were killed by rockets fired from Pakistan, an Afghan official said Sunday, according to AP. The Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, said 30 fighters aligned with Hezb-i Islami, a faction led by former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, had laid down their weapons and agreed to cooperate with the government. The fighters came from the Tagab Valley of Kapisa province, a region about 60 kilometers (45 miles) north of the capital, Kabul. In Paktia province, eight security guards working for a road construction company died when their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb, said provincial Gov. Akram Akhpelwak. A rocket fired from Pakistan into the Bermel region destroyed a house and killed two civilians, he said. In the southern province of Helmand, three Taliban fighters were killed and five Afghan soldiers wounded during a battle in Gereshk district, the Ministry of Defense said.
