Afghan children die in roadside blasts

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, according to 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 traveling 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 U.S.-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.

Wire services