Bride among dead when bus hits mine

KABUL, Afghanistan – A bus carrying a wedding party struck a mine in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province, killing the bride and groom and eight others, a police official said.

Provincial police chief Matiullah Kahn said children were killed in the bombing, which he blamed on Taliban militants. Eight other people were wounded, he said.

Khan said the bride and groom were among the dead, but an AP Television News cameraman later interviewed relatives who said the groom was among the wounded. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the differing accounts.

The civilian deaths Saturday came after the U.S.-led coalition said some of its forces used airstrikes to kill more than a dozen Taliban fighters, also in southern Afghanistan.