Afghan officials say a minibus has struck a roadside bomb in western Afghanistan, killing 14 civilians.

Authorities say the blast near the western province of Herat on Thursday wounded an unknown number of others. An Afghan spokesperson tells French news agency AFP that women and children are among the victims.

Separately, Afghan officials say a truck bomb exploded earlier Thursday outside a U.S.-led military base in the eastern part of the country, killing two Afghan security guards and wounding several others.

Police say a suicide truck bomber approached the heavily fortified entrance of the base and detonated his explosives after being confronted by Afghan security guards.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened at a U.S.-run provincial reconstruction team base in Gardez, the capital of the eastern province of Paktia.

Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, with international troop and Afghan civilian deaths reaching record levels.