Roadside Explosion Kills 14 In Afghan Bus

A roadside blast ripped through a vehicle in southern Afghanistan Friday, killing 14 people as they traveled to a provincial capital for holiday celebrations, an official said.

British television reports said most onboard the mini-bus were children and old civilians.

The explosion, which also wounded three people, went off on a road leading to a small village just north of Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province, said Abdul Qayum Qayumi, the governor's spokesman.

The Reuters news agency reported that the leader of the Taleban militant movement had contacted their offices via satellite phone Friday and accused NATO forces operating in Afghanistan of genocide, after claims the day before that they had killed as many as 80 civilians in Kandahar province.

Taleban military commander Mullah Dadullah also said his group would conduct increased suicide bombings and other attacks in Afghanistan in retaliation for the NATO operations, according to Reuters.

It wasn't clear if Friday's explosion was from an old mine left over from past conflicts or a newly planted roadside bomb, Qayumi said.

Thursday, a provincial council member from Kandahar, Bismallah Afghanmal, said 80 to 85 civilians were killed in fighting in the province's Panjwayi district on Tuesday. A villager, Karim Jan, said 60 to 70 died.

Another government official who asked not to be named because it would "cause him problems" said at least 60 were killed.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force late Wednesday said its forces killed 48 militants in heavy fighting in Panjwayi on Tuesday. NATO also said it had "credible reports" of civilian casualties, though it said it only knew of four civilians who had been wounded.

The clashes targeted militants attacking NATO's development efforts in the area, said Maj. Luke Knittig, a ISAF spokesman. Troops used mortar, artillery and air support, the alliance said.

The Afghan Defense Ministry is heading up an investigation into the matter, NATO said.