BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Militants have killed 6 Americans and an Afghan doctor in a pair of attacks in , marking the deadliest day for the Americans in the country in eight months.

Three US service members, two US civilians, and the doctor were killed when they were hit by an explosion while traveling to donate books to students at a school in the southern Zabul Province.

The two American civilians killed included at least one US State Department employee, according to a US official. Another American civilian has been killed in a separate insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said in a statement. Several other Americans and Afghans, possibly as many as nine, were wounded.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi has claimed responsibility for the attack in Zabul and said the bomber was seeking to target either a coalition convoy or the governor.

(Source: CNTV.cn)