KABUL: A roadside bomb exploded in central Afghanistan on Saturday, killing six people travelling in a civilian vehicle, the interior ministry said.

The blast occurred in Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province, said the ministry. One passenger was also wounded in the incident, it added.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are widely used by Taliban insurgents against Afghan and international troops, but often claim civilian lives.

Two militants were also killed on Saturday when the IED they were trying to plant on a roadside in the Muqur district of western Badghis province went off, provincial police chief Sayed Ahmad Sameh told AFP.

There are about 121,000 international troops based in Afghanistan fighting an insurgency being waged by the remnants of the Taliban, pushed from government after a US-led invasion in late 2001.