Five people were killed and nine others were wounded on Sunday when their vehicle ran over a landmine in southern Afghanistan, a provincial official said. "Fourteen kilometres (nine miles) north of Kandahar city a pickup truck ran over a mine.... Five people were killed and nine others were wounded," provincial government spokesman Khaleeq Pashtun told AFP, adding that the mine had been placed there by Taleban militants.
"It was a new mine placed in the road. It was put there by the Taleban."
Military officials also confirmed the attack, which occurred around 1:30 pm (0900 GMT).
Remnants of the ousted Taleban regime are active in the south and south-east of the country, mainly in areas near the border with Pakistan.
There have been frequent attacks against Afghan forces and foreign troops since a US-led campaign toppled the Taleban in late 2001 after they refused to handover Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.