Deadly highway crash in Laghman kills 18, injures 29

At least 18 people were killed and 29 others injured after a truck carrying returning refugee families overturned on the Kabul–Jalalabad highway in eastern Afghanistan early Saturday, local authorities said.

According to the Laghman Provincial Media and Public Relations Office, the accident occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m. near the Surkhakan intersection in Laghman province.

Officials said the victims included 10 children, five women and three men, who had been returning to Afghanistan from Pakistan where they had lived as refugees.

Emergency responders, including traffic police and members of the provincial migrant affairs committee, arrived at the scene shortly after the incident and launched rescue operations. The injured were subsequently transferred to medical facilities in neighboring Nangarhar province for treatment.

Authorities have not yet disclosed the cause of the accident, and an investigation is expected to determine the circumstances that led to the vehicle overturning.

Road accidents remain a persistent challenge in Afghanistan, where poor road conditions, overcrowded vehicles, speeding, and limited traffic enforcement frequently contribute to deadly crashes.