Al-Qaida blamed after 18 killed in bus bombing

A bomb has destroyed a bridge outside Kandahar, killing 18 people on a bus.

Eyewitnesses say only two people survived the powerful explosion, which took place on Rambasi Bridge.

No-one has yet taken responsibility, but Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives are being blamed by police.

Detectives believe Afghan soldiers were the intended target - there is an army post nearby and soldiers routinely patrol the area.

Southern Kandahar was the former spiritual base of the Taliban and the city has become the focus of rebel attacks.

Two months ago several Afghan soldiers were killed when a bomb was detonated as their jeep crossed a busy road.

The city was also the site of a failed assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai in September last year.

This week has seen an engagement of US-led coalition and rebel forces in the mountains of southeastern Afghanistan. The battle has been described as the biggest for nearly a year.