Kabul, February 9 (RHC)-- A bomb explosion has rocked an area in southeastern Afghanistan, killing at least six civilians and injuring nine others. According to local Afghan officials, the casualties were caused after the blast occurred in front of a bakery in Paktika Province on Monday.

Local residents and witnesses said that the bomb targeted police and government employees buying bread in the troubled region. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

The attack comes hours after at least three Afghan soldiers were killed and nearly two dozen others injured in an attack on a bus carrying Afghan army personnel near the Balkh provincial capital of Mazar-i-Sharif.

In other news, according to government and diplomatic sources, Afghanistan’s Interior Minister Noor-ul-Haq Olomi has offered his resignation to President Ashraf Ghani amid growing criticism over the deteriorating security situation in the country. The sources said the resignation has not been accepted by Ghani yet as he is still looking for a replacement.