Seven civilians including women and children were killed Wednesday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, police said. The explosion happened in the morning as they were driving to Panjwayi district from Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar province, where Taliban influence is strong, said Mohammad Shah Khan, deputy provincial police chief. 'Seven civilians were martyred including three children, two women and two men,' he told selfnews. Khan blamed the attack on 'enemies of Afghanistan', a term used to describe Taliban rebels who have waged a bloody insurgency since being forced from power by a US-led invasion in late 2001. Separately, officials said 21 Taliban rebels were killed in an air strike by international forces on Tuesday in the remote desert district of Chahar Burjak, in western Nimroz province, close to Pakistan. A one-hour bombing raid targeted three pick-up trucks, said provincial governor Ghulam Dastagir Azad. 'In the bombing, which lasted from noon to one o'clock, 21 Taliban were killed,' he told selfnews. There were no civilian casualties, he said, because the region is so remote. The strike was called in when the vehicles were seen heading from near the Pakistan border towards Afghan security posts, sparking fear of an attack. 'When informed the American forces bombed the vehicles, causing the Taliban deaths,' Azad said. 