Kandahar, Aug 6 (DPA) A roadside bomb explosion and a US airstrike killed 26 civilians in southern Afghanistan while six troops also died in fighting across the country, officials said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said Thursday that a US soldier, serving under the banner of the alliance forces, was killed fighting the Taliban in western Afghanistan, while five police were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Helmand province.

The civilians killed in the first attack were on their way to a wedding in the Darwaishan area of Garmsir in the southern province of Helmand Wednesday, Assadullah Sherzad, the provincial police chief said.

Sherzad held militants with the Islamic extremist Taliban, who are most active in Helmand, responsible for the attack.

The Afghan Defence Ministry also confirmed the blast, saying in a statement that the attack once again showed the intentions of 'terrorists' towards the Afghan people.

Afghan civilians have been the main victims of Taliban-led attacks and fighting between insurgents and international forces.

In the latest incident of civilian deaths at the hand of international forces, five farmers were killed by a US military airstrike Wednesday, according to Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi, district governor of Zherai in southern Kandahar province.

'The farmers were loading cucumbers on a truck when the American forces hit them from their aircraft,' Sarhadi said, claiming that he had gone to the scene and saw no weapons.