11 killed, 35 injured in Afghanistan blast

At least 11 people were killed and more than 35 injured in an explosion in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Twenty-two children, six women and two men are among the wounded.

Kandahar: A roadside bomb in Afghanistan killed at least 11 people riding in a truck in the southern Kandahar province, provincial officials said Monday.

Ahmad Sadeq Essa, a deputy army spokesman in Kandahar, said that around 35 other civilians were wounded in the explosion in Khakrez district.

Yousof Younosi, a provincial council member in Kandahar, said that women and children were among those killed, but couldn't provide an exact breakdown.

However the head of Kandahar's health department, Neyamatulah Barkzail, told 22 children, six women and two men were wounded.

Younosi said some of the wounded were in critical condition.

All the victims were members of the same family and their close relatives who were on their way to a shrine, he added.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Younosi blamed the Taliban, who often use roadside bombs to target Afghan security forces in the province.

Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban, and the insurgent group has a strong presence in the province.