Kandahar  - A roadside bomb believed to have been planted by Taliban insurgents hit a tractor in southern Afghanistan, killing 21 civilians including women and children, officials said Thursday.

The civilians were on their way to a wedding ceremony in the Darwaishan area of Garmsir in southern province of Helmand on Wednesday when the incident occurred, Assadullah Sherzad, the provincial police chief told the German Press Agency dpa.

"Unfortunately 21 local villagers, including women and children, were killed in this attack," Sherzad said, adding that the civilians were travelling inside a trailer attached to a tractor.

He said five other civilians were wounded in the attack. Sherzad held Taliban militants, who are most active in Helmand, responsible for the attack.

The Afghan Defence Ministry also confirmed the blast in a statement and said the attack once again showed the intentions of "terrorists" towards the Afghan people. (dpa)