KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar killed at least six civilians traveling in a car that hit the device, officials said on Monday.

“It was a bomb which had recently been planted by the Taliban to target Afghan forces but a civilian car went through it,” said Fazel Bari Baryalai, a spokesman for the provincial governor, adding: “All the people killed in the car were young people from the area.”

The incident highlights the threat from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) such as roadside bombs, one of the deadliest threats to civilians in Afghanistan.

In the first half of the year, according to United Nations figures, 252 civilians were killed and 295 injured by pressure plate devices that typically explode when hit by a vehicle.