DHAKA: Two separate roadside bombs in southeastern Afghanistan have killed nine children - including seven from the same family, officials have said.

On Monday, a roadside bomb killed seven children from the same family in Afghanistan`s Paktika province, said the governor`s spokesman Mokhlis Afghan.

The blast also wounded another three children from the family, who were all playing together on a road near their home.

Afghan authorities said they were aged seven to 12 years and were in primary school.

In a separate incident in the southern Zabul province, two children were killed when their family`s vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, Zabul`s deputy governor, Mohammed Jan Rasoolyar said.

The family was travelling to the provincial capital of Qalat for shopping. The father was wounded along with a third child, Rasoolyar said.

Roadside bombs are a weapon of choice for the Taliban in the war against the US-led Afghan security forces.

Also on Monday, police in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar stopped a tractor hauling roadside bombs, said Javid Faisal, the provincial governor`s spokesman.

A firefight erupted as the police tried to stop the vehicle near the border with Pakistan, he said. The shooting set off the bombs, killing the driver and a second person on the tractor.

Source: Al Jazeera.com
BDST: 1230 HRS, NOV 19, 2013
MR/RS/BSK