AFP, June 11, 2010

14 killed in Afghanistan attacks

Eleven civilians and three NATO soldiers have been killed in attacks in Afghanistan, as US defence secretary Robert Gates urged patience with the war

Nine civilians, including four women and three children, died when a bomb ripped through a minibus travelling along the main road leading to the capital of Kandahar province.

At least 50 people were killed and 87 wounded by a massive explosion at a wedding in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on June 10, 2010 in Kandahar. (Photo: AFP)

Eight other civilians were wounded in the attack, which took place in the Maywand area, provincial government spokesman Zalmai Ayobi said.

Five of the wounded in critical condition were airlifted by NATO forces to a military hospital.

Kandahar city is the heartland of the Taliban insurgency, which has been underway now for nearly nine years.

Meanwhile, two NATO soldiers and two Afghan civilians were killed by a bomb explosion in a small market in Zabul province.

NATO attributed the blast to an improvised explosive device while local authorities said it was a suicide attack.

A third soldier was killed in an attack in the east, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

The deaths bring to 27 the number of NATO soldiers killed since Sunday.

In total, 257 foreign soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the start of the year.

NATO forces are engaged in a major build-up centred on Kandahar which is aimed at bringing the war to an end and drawing down foreign troop levels.

But the last week saw an upsurge in Taliban attacks and the alliance has announced a two to three-month delay in the peak of operations.

On Wednesday, 40 people died in a suicide attack on a wedding outside Kandahar city attended by members of an anti-Taliban militia, one of the deadliest incidents so far this year.

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