Nine civilians were killed in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, including women and children, when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle.

Nine civilians were killed in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, including women and children, when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle, provincial police said.

The civilians were driving into Khost city, capital of Khost province, when the blast hit their van, deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Yaqoub Mandozai told AFP.
"Three women, four children and two men were killed by the roadside bomb explosion. They were all civilians," Mandozai said, blaming the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan".

Meanwhile on Saturday morning, three rockets were fired into the heart of Kabul, with one landing close to the presidential palace, interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said.
However the attack came before the start of the rush hour when the city was almost empty and caused no casualties.

One rocket landed near the river that runs near the presidential compound and other ministries, and two others hit a mixed residential and market area.
The rockets were launched from the eastern edge of the city, Bashary said blaming "enemies of Afghanistan".