A bomb made at the home of a Taliban commander exploded, killing five young children and a woman in eastern Afghanistan.

A bomb made at the home of a Taliban commander exploded, killing five young children and a woman in eastern Afghanistan.

The device detonated on Thursday while children were playing with it after the Taliban commander, identified only as Abdullah, left the house, a spokesman for the local government in Paktika province said.

"Yesterday morning a Taliban commander, Abdullah, was making a bomb in his home to plant along the road and kill Afghan forces," spokesman Mokhlis Afghan told AFP.

"After a while, Abdullah left home, and the children came and played with the mine, and it detonated inside the house."

He said a woman and five children, aged three to seven, were killed.