The convoy of Indian workers under Afghan police escort first was struck by a roadside bomb in Khasrod district of Nimroz province in western Afghanistan, the Kuwait news agency KUNA reported Thursday.

The second explosion, which local officials said was a possible suicide attack, killed seven people and injured a dozen more.

Ghulam Dastagir Azad, the provincial governor, said six of the dead were Afghan police officers and the seventh was an Indian construction worker.

Thursday's attack was the first of the new year in Afghanistan, KUNA reported.