A BOMB tore through a minibus in southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing 17, half of them children, in the second deadly attack in less than a week to be blamed on Taliban guerrillas.

Insurgents fired a volley of rockets at a US base in south-east Afghanistan, prompting coalition forces to return fire with artillery, a US military spokesman said today.

A B-52 bomber and two fighter jets pounded a suspected rebel position after attackers fired two rockets at a US base in north-eastern Afghanistan.