18 dead including 3 Taliban militants in twin attack at Afghanistan

At least 10 civilians were killed and 13 others were wounded after a bomb ripped through a district bazaar in Afghanistan's Paktika province on Monday, officials said.

"Ten martyred and 13 wounded civilians were admitted to a main hospital in the provincial capital Sharana city following a bomb attack in Jani Khil district," Mohammad Raffah, a provincial health official, told Xinhua news agency.

Two children were among those killed. The blast occurred after an improvised explosive device was detonated at a bazaar in the district in the morning, a police official said.

In a separate development, five police personnel and three Taliban militants were killed after militants stormed a security checkpoint along the main roadway in Faizabad district of Jawzjan province on Sunday night. The militants overran the checkpoint and took several rounds of guns and ammunition after the clash.

(With inputs from agencies.)