A roadside bomb in central Afghanistan kills 14 people

14 people killed in Afghan blast

KABUL — An explosion in central Afghanistan killed 14 people, including 10 civilians and four policemen Thursday, a provincial police chief said.

The blast happened after a truck filled with timber had tipped over on the main road connecting Logar province with Kabul to the north, said the provincial police chief, Mustafa Khan.

As the police were trying to clear the road, the blast ripped through them, killing four officers and 10 civilians, Khan said.

Authorities suspect the explosives were in the back of the truck, mingled with the timber, and were remotely detonated, Khan said.

Militants regularly use roadside bomb attacks against Afghan and foreign troops, but majority of the victims have been civilians.

The blast happened as thousands of U.S. Marines in southern Afghanistan are involved in the biggest American military offensive in country since the ouster of the Taliban from power in 2001.