Two roadside bombs went off Thursday morning in Afghan southern province of Kandahar, killing five and injuring 31, when the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid her first visit as the top US diplomat to Afghanistan.

"Two bombs in the east and west of Kandahar went off this morning at the same time. The two explosions at least killed five civilians including two women, and injured 31," Khalid Pashtun, the spokesman of the Kandahar government told Xinhua via telephone.

"We cannot confirm the casualties in the blasts so far, yet some seven or eight were killed," Khan Mohammad, the police chief of Kandahar said.

Meanwhile, several roads are blocked and heavily armed police are patrolling the city when Rice is meeting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Shelater on will have a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the Presidential Palace.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2005)