At least 14 people killed in Afghanistan roadside blast

At least 14 people have been killed and many wounded when a roadside bomb hit a crowded minibus in the Afghan province of Herat, officials say. Officials said the bus was full and women and children were among the casualties, the BBC reported Thursday. It was travelling from Obe district to the provincial capital, which recently passed to the control of Afghan forces. Earlier on Thursday, a suicide attack at a US-run base in eastern Paktia province killed two Afghan guards. Afghan officials said the roadside bomb was planted by the Taliban. Last December, 14 people were killed when a bus hit an explosive planted in the same area. Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are widely used by insurgents. Their intended targets are Afghan or International security forces but because they are left unsupervised and activated by a pressure plate, civilian vehicles often detonate the explosives. IEDs are to blame for the majority of civilian deaths in Afghanistan.