16 killed in separate traffic accidents: Afghan official

An Afghan official says at least 16 passengers were killed in separate traffic accidents Thursday in western Herat province.

Jelani Farhad, spokesman for the provincial governor, said a passenger bus collided with a minivan in Adraskan district, leaving 11 people dead and seven others injured.

Farhad said a second accident on the highway connecting the provincial capital Herat and Islam Qala at the border with neighboring Iran took place when two vehicles collided with a fuel tanker. Five people died and four were injured in that crash, he said.

Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan mainly due to the poor condition of roads and carelessness of drivers on the highways.