32 people, mostly women and children, killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan

At least 32 people, mostly women and children, died Wednesday when a roadside bomb ripped through a bus in western Afghanistan.

Fifteen others were wounded, Mohibullah Mohib, a spokesman for the police chief in Farah province, told The Associated Press. Most of those wounded were in critical condition.

No one has claimed responsibility for attacking the bus, which was traveling on a highway between the cities of Herat and Kandahar, but Taliban fighters operate in the region and often use roadside bombs, the AP reported.

Wednesday's attack comes a day after a U.N. report was released documenting the nearly 4,000 Afghan civilian casualties in in the first half of 2019 -- 1,366 killed, 2,446 wounded.

The report concluded that most casualties -- about 52% -- continue to be caused by anti-government elements including the Taliban. On-the-ground fighting remained the leading cause of casualties, at about one-third of the total, with improvised explosives, or IEDs, responsible for 28% and airstrikes contributing about 14%.