Authorities say insurgents have kidnapped and killed three Afghan soldiers in eastern Afghanistan.

Police official Mohammad Zaman told reporters insurgents stopped the soldiers' vehicle in the Ahmad Khil district of Paktia province and forced them off. The soldiers' bodies were found along the road later on Thursday.

Zaman said the troops were off-duty and were on their way to visit their families.

Meanwhile in southern Afghanistan, authorities say a roadside bomb killed six civilians traveling in Kandahar province. The blast took place Thursday in the Spin Boldak district.

The United Nations says 1,145 Afghan civilians were killed in the first half of this year, 80 percent of them by militants. The U.N. says roadside bombs planted by insurgents remain the leading cause of death among Afghan women and children.