Bus strikes roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, 9 killed

Kandhar Governor's spokesman Bashir Ahmadi confirmed the bombing, saying five passengers were wounded. It was the third roadside bombing since a brief cease-fire declared by the Taliban for a major Muslim holiday had ended last month.

Kabul: A roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday killed nine passengers travelling on a bus through Kandahar province, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.

Another five passengers were wounded in the explosion, said the spokesman, Bashir Ahmadi. The passengers were all civilians travelling from one district to another when the bus hit the bomb.

He said this was the third roadside bombing since a brief cease-fire declared by the Taliban for a major Muslim holiday had ended last month.

The Taliban have not claimed responsibility for any of those attacks but they carried out one attack on Afghan forces since the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The truce was not officially extended but neither of the warring sides appears to want a return to all-out fighting.

On Tuesday night, a bomb exploded inside a mosque in Kabul, killing two people, including the mosque's prayer leader, and wounding eight others.

AP