Kabul, Sep 1 (IANS): At least 203 people, most of them civilians, were killed and hundreds wounded in bombings and attacks across Afghanistan last month, according to official figures.

A total of 50 major bombings, including 20 suicide attacks, were launched by the Taliban and other militant groups, reported Xinhua.

On Saturday, five civilians and a policeman were killed and 20 people were wounded when a suicide bombing hit a branch of a local bank in Kandahar city.

On Aug 28, 10 Taliban militants launched a coordinated attack on a coalition base in eastern Ghazni province. Two car bombs went off in the provincial capital Ghazni city, killing two US soldiers, three civilians and four policemen, and wounding over 60 others.

Twelve foreign soldiers were killed last month across Afghanistan.

The UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) recently said that 1,319 Afghans were killed and more than 2,500 wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in the first half of the year.

The figure indicates a 23-percent rise in overall civilian casualties compared to the same period last year.