Officials in western Afghanistan said a roadside bomb blast killed six policemen Saturday in Herat province as they were patrolling on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
The death toll was confirmed by the provincial governor's spokesman Ehsanullah Hayat, according to the French news agency AFP.
The French news agency reports three policemen were also wounded in the explosion.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion, but the blast has all the earmarks of the Taliban militants who frequently use roadside bombs as their weapon of choice.
The blast comes days after Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar issued a statement endorsing as "legitimate" a nascent negotiation with the Afghan government representatives aimed at ending the conflict.