Roadside bomb kills 19 in south Afghanistan

A minibus struck a roadside bomb while driving in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, triggering an explosion that killed 19 Afghan civilians, officials said.

The vehicle was driving on a road in Helmand province's volatile Sangin district -- a Taliban stronghold -- when it hit the bomb, said Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Helmand government.

At least five children were among the dead, he said. Another six people were wounded and all were being treated at a NATO base.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, a common situation when bombs kill civilians.

The blast comes a day after twin bombings on Shiite Muslims celebrating the holiday of Ashoura left 60 dead and sparked fears that attacks in Afghanistan might be taking on a sectarian dimension for the first time.

Ashoura honours the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in 680 AD.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai cut short a European trip because of yesterday's attacks and returned to Kabul today to visit the scores of wounded and the bereaved families of those killed in the capital.

A suicide bomber slaughtered 56 Shiite worshippers and wounded more than 160 others yesterday outside a shrine where hundreds had gathered to worship.

One US citizen was also among the dead, according to a statement issued by the American embassy in Kabul.

The blast, coupled with another smaller explosion in a northern city that killed four people in a holiday vehicle procession, marked the first major assault on a Muslim sect in Afghanistan in recent memory.