At least 18 people, including 10 civilians, have been killed in three separate militant attacks in Afghanistan, officials say.

Women and children were among 10 killed when a minibus hit a roadside bomb in southern Helmand province. Reports say they were heading to a wedding party. Other bombings killed five Afghan soldiers in Laghman in the east, and three police in Kandahar in the south.

Taliban insurgents have a strong presence in the volatile southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand and have been leading attacks against Western forces and the Afghan government since they were ousted from power in 2001.

In the Helmand attack four women and two children were among the dead when their minibus hit an improvised explosive device in Musa Qala. Six other people were wounded. A spokesman for the Helmand governor blamed the explosion on the Taliban.