Mortar attack kills three in Afghanistan on I-Day

At least three Afghans were killed and 49 injured yesterday in a mortar attack in the country’s eastern province bordering Pakistan during the country’s Independence Day celebrations, officials said.The mortar shells which struck a government building where a celebration was underway in Kunar province were fired by Taliban militants, Xinhua news agency quoted a provincial head as saying.“Two children and a man were killed and 49 others wounded by the mortar shelling in Asadabad this morning,” provincial Governor Wahidullah Kalimzai said.War-torn Afghanistan on August 18 marked the 97th anniversary of its independence from British occupation by holding meetings and celebrations across the country.