Afghan blast kills five policemen: officials

Khost

A roadside bomb has killed five Afghan policemen on patrol in the eastern province of Paktia, officials said Sunday, the latest in a series of deadly insurgent attacks.

The blast in Zurmat district in the troubled province bordering Pakistan hit a police vehicle Saturday evening and killed all five officers on board, provincial police chief Zulmai Oryakhail said.

The incident and death toll was confirmed by the provincial governor's spokesman Naqib Ahmad Attal.

No group or individual immediately claimed responsibility but both officials blamed Taliban militants for the attack.

Roadside bombs are the favourite weapon of the Islamist militants fighting to oust the Western-backed Kabul government.

Separately a bomb explosion wounded at least eight civilians in Asad Abad, the capital of Kunar province also on the border with Pakistan, provincial police chief Abdul Habib Sayedkhili said.