Roadside bombs kill 12 in south Afghanistan

Kabul: Two roadside bombs exploded Friday in different parts of Afghanistan's volatile south, killing 12 people, including five women, Afghan officials said.

The deputy governor of Zabul province, Mohammed Rasoolyar, said a bomb destroyed a bus near the provincial capital, Qalat, killing all nine people on board. The bombing took place along a main highway that links the capital, Kabul, with the restive south, Rasoolyar said.

In Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban, two men and a child died when the motorcycle they were riding hit a roadside bomb in Ghorak district, a hotbed of Taliban activity, said Javid Faisel, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings, but blame likely will fall on Taliban insurgents.

The south is considered a Taliban stronghold and insurgents there stage near-daily attacks against Afghan and NATO soldiers. Their bombs routinely kill innocent civilians.