Senior Afghan provincial official slain

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- A senior provincial official was killed by gunmen in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and five Taliban militants were slain in Ghanzi province Tuesday, officials said.

Dost Mohammad Arghistani, head of the Kandahar province's Department of Martyrs and Disabled, was shot dead by armed motorcyclists Tuesday morning, a spokesman for Gov. Zalmay Ayubi told KUNA, the Kuwait news agency. Arghistani's driver was also injured in the attack.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, U.S.-led coalition troops said they had killed five militants during in an operation in Ghazni province, including a Taliban commander. A coalition statement said the armed militants fired on coalition troops as they approached. Coalition forces Sunday said they killed five Taliban militants in the same province, KUNA reported.

In central Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, a remote-controlled mine struck a bus, killing nine civilians including three boys, provincial officials told CNN. They said most of the victims were on their way to the town of Deh Rawod. Six others were reported wounded in the blast.