Accidental blast kills six militants in Afghanistan

Up to six Taliban insurgents were killed Saturday in a blast in Afghan province of Ghazni, police said.

"A local Taliban leader named Mullah Saddiq, along with five militias, were killed after improvised explosive devices (IEDs) they were building went off prematurely Ghazni city at around morning," Xinhua quoted deputy provincial police chief Asadullah Insafi as saying.

The militants planned to use the IEDs to target security forces.

"Local people tried to stop the militants from entering the holy place but failed. The mosque building was destroyed in the explosion but no civilian was hurt in the incident," he noted.

There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.