10 civilians killed in southern Afghanistan blast

KABUL, Afghanistan – NATO and Afghan officials say more than 10 civilians have been killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.

A statement by the international coalition says several others were wounded in the blast, which occurred in a crowded area of the Nahr-e-Sarah district in Helmand province on Thursday.

Dauod Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Helmand governor, says a minibus hit a roadside bomb planted by the Taliban. Ahmadi said that 14 people were killed and wounded, but he could not say specifically how many were dead.

Helmand is among the Taliban stronghold provinces in southern Afghanistan. NATO has beefed up its forces in the area this year in a bid to quell the insurgency there.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban fired two rockets into the main U.S. base north of the Afghan capital early Thursday, while a NATO airstrike near the Pakistan border killed an insurgent commander and several other militants, the coalition said.

Master Sgt. Jason Haag, a NATO spokesman in Kabul, said "two rounds of indirect fire" hit Bagram Air Field before dawn, but had no additional details. Sher Mohammed Maldani, police chief for the Parwan province where the base is located, said there were no casualties reported. He said the insurgents fired and fled the scene.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said by telephone that the insurgents shot two rockets into the base, which sits about an hour's drive northeast of Kabul. He said coalition forces sustained injuries, but offered no evidence to back up that claim.

East of Kabul, NATO said it killed two Taliban leaders in an airstrike targeting militants in Nangarhar province's Pachir wa Agam district along the Pakistan border.

The insurgents, identified as Sayid Rahman and Zehrie Gul, were involved in planning and conducting attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, according to NATO. The coalition said the group was believed to be coordinating suicide bombings in the area and may have been planning an attack on an Afghan border checkpoint. A number of other insurgents were also killed in Wednesday's strike, NATO said.

While the coalition has focused much of its efforts in the Taliban's strongholds in southern Afghanistan, NATO has also cast a wider net, targeting militants in the east along the Pakistan border.