Fifteen Afghan civilians died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan and seven road construction company employees were killed in an air strike in an eastern province, authorities said yesterday.

The deaths were the latest in an upsurge of violence that has made this year the deadliest for both Afghans and foreign troops since the 2001 overthrow oftheTaliban.

There was also a suicide bomb attack on Saturday in northern Kunduz province, one of several areas that were relatively peacefill for many years but where the insurgency is now spreading fast. It is also used as a springboard to launch other attacks.

The attacker was driving a police vehicle and targeted an Afghan National Army convoy, wounding five soldiers and three women who were in the area, said Char Dara District Chief Abdul Wahid Omakheil.