A roadside bomb struck a civilian mini-bus in Paktia province, eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, leaving eight people dead and injuring 14 others, all civilians, an official said Monday.

"The bloody incident took place in Zurmat district on late Sunday evening, as a result eight passengers including women and children died and 14 others sustained injuries, some of them in critical condition," deputy to provincial police chief Ghulam Dastgir Khan told Xinhua.

However, he put the attack on enemies of peace, a term used against Taliban militants, but the outfit has yet to claim responsibility.

Like southern region, eastern parts of the militancy-plagued country has too been experiencing violent incidents since beginning this year as a suicide attack left at least one civilian dead and injured two security guards of a private company on Monday.

The militants whose regime was driven out of power in a U.S.- led military campaign in late 2001 have vowed to speed up their attacks against the Afghan government and NATO-led troops stationed in the post-Taliban Afghanistan.