More than 11 civilians and 13 policemen have been killed in three different incidents across Afghanistan, local authorities said.

Taliban militants killed nine policemen Tuesday in a fire exchange which happened in the remote Shorabak district of the Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban rebels attacked their remote outpost on the Pakistani border early in the morning.

Four others were sent as reinforcements, but were also killed only this time by remote-controlled bombs which hit the cars they came in, according to Kandahar police chief Sayed Agha Saqeb, AFP reported.

Three children were killed by the explosion of a bomb set under a bridge in Kandahar. Authorities said the bomb exploded too early. The rebel who planted the bomb also died in the blast.

Eight civilians died when a bomb explosion hit the bus they were traveling in. The accident took place in the Delaram district of the Farah province in western Afghanistan.

Four other policemen were killed in Logar province, south of Kabul. Local authorities said a roadside bomb hit the car in which the policemen were traveling.

In the same province, hundreds of protesters caused unrest over the killing of a religious teacher by the foreign troops. The protesters blocked a highway.

U.S.-led forces said an operation to stop weapons smugglers in Garmser district was carried out in the southern province of Helmand. The foreign troops killed several militants in the operation.