The families were on their way to visit a relative who had recently returned from Mecca when their vehicle was hit in Dih Rawud district in rural Uruzgan province, district governor Nematullah Khaliqi told AFP.

"Four of the dead are men, one is a woman and the rest are children. Eight others, men, women and children, are wounded," he said.

The death toll was confirmed by Abdullah Hemat, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012