Eleven civilians and three NATO soldiers have been killed in attacks in Afghanistan, as US defence secretary Robert Gates urged patience with the war.<br/><br/>Nine civilians, including four women and three children, died when a bomb ripped through a minibus travelling along the main road leading to the capital of Kandahar province.<br/><br/>Eight other civilians were wounded in the attack, which took place in the Maywand area, provincial government spokesman Zalmai Ayobi said.<br/><br/>Five of the wounded in critical condition were airlifted by NATO forces to a military hospital.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, two NATO soldiers and two Afghan civilians were killed by a bomb explosion in a small market in Zabul province. NATO attributed the blast to an improvised explosive device while local authorities said it was a suicide attack. A third soldier was killed in an attack in the east, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.<br/><br/>The deaths bring to 27 the number of NATO soldiers killed since Sunday. In total, 257 foreign soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the start of the year.<br/><br/>On Wednesday, 40 people died in a suicide attack on a wedding outside Kandahar city attended by members of an anti-Taliban militia, one of the deadliest incidents so far this year.