An explosion in southwestern Afghanistan has killed at least nine civilians as security situation continues to deteriorate in the war-ravaged country, Press TV reported.
The incident occurred after a civilian bus hit a Taliban-style roadside bomb in a district of southwestern Nimroz Province.
The bomb, which was planted to target military forces, killed civilians, with local sources saying that most of the victims were female students.
"It was a powerful bomb that killed most of the innocent civilians immediately," Reuters quoted a regional police official as saying.
Violence has recently spread from Afghanistan's south to its northern and western areas despite the presence of some 150,000 foreign troops in the country.
The United Nations says more than 1,200 civilians have been killed in the first half of 2010.