A bomb blast has struck a minibus in Afghanistan's southern province of Uruzgan, killing 14 passengers, mostly children and elderly people.

Qayoom Qayoomi, a provincial government spokesman, said the bus was traveling to the provincial capital of Tirin Kot on Friday when it hit a bomb planted in the road.

"Fourteen civilians, mostly elders and children, were killed in the blast and three were wounded," he said.

 It was not immediately clear what kind of bomb had caused the explosion or who may have been behind the blast.

Taliban insurgents are behind most bomb attacks, including roadside bombings and suicide attacks, in Afghanistan and they are active in Uruzgan in south-central Afghanistan.

The Taliban were toppled from government in late 2001.

They launched an insurgency a month later that has grown in strength every year since.

The violence has claimed around 3,000 lives in Kandahar, according to a rough estimate.

Photo Caption

British Nato troops in Helmand province