Taliban-linked activities kill 12, wound 11 in Afghanistan

By Farid Behbud

KABUL, Nov. 3, 2010 (Xinhua) --

Taliban-linked militancy in Afghanistan left 12 persons including five insurgents dead and injured 11 others on a single day on Wednesday.

In the latest waves of violent attacks, the militants carried out a suicide car bombing in the eastern Khost province leaving two Afghan soldiers dead and wounding 10 others, an army officer confirmed.

The blast occurred at around 01:00 p.m. local time when a suicide bomber blew his explosive-laden car up near an Afghan army checkpoint in Sabari district, Khost province, killing two Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and injuring 10 others, Mohammad Israr, an army officer in Khost province said.

"In the suicide car bombing against the Afghan army today in Sabari district, two ANA soldiers were martyred and 10 others sustained injuries," Israr told Xinhua.

The attacker was also killed in the blast, said the officer.

Also on the same day Wednesday, a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants struck a vehicle in Khost's neighboring Paktia province injuring the district chief of Syed Karam and killing his bodyguard, the police said.

"Agha Gul, governor of Syed Karam district, was on the way to the provincial capital Gerdez today when his car ran over a mine as a result he sustained injuries and his bodyguard was killed," a senior police officer Ghulam Dastgir Khan told Xinhua.

Wednesday's violent attacks in Khost and Paktia provinces took place just day after President Hamid Karzai paid a visit to the Paktika province and called on Taliban militants to give up militancy and join the peace process.

Taliban-linked militancy and conflicts also claimed the lives of four militants and two children in the southern Helmand province on Wednesday.

"Four Taliban militants and two children were killed Wednesday in Nad Ali district of Helmand province as Taliban rebels came in contact with NATO-led troops today," the provincial administration spokesman Daud Ahmadi said.

The two innocent children lost their lives when they were caught in the cross fire, he added.

Two soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have also lost their lives in Taliban- linked activities in the restive southern and relatively peaceful northern region of Afghanistan Wednesday, ISAF confirmed in separate statements.

Patrol kills insurgents in Afghanistan

Published: Nov. 3, 2010 at 4:03 PM

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 3, 2010 (UPI) --

Afghan and international forces killed several insurgents and detained others during a mission to locate a Taliban leader in Helmand province, officials said.

An Afghan National Security and International Security Assistance Force patrol surrounded the compound of a Taliban leader suspected of planning, coordinating and executing numerous small arms and improvised explosive device attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, an ISAF Joint Command release said.

After securing the perimeter, the patrol used loudspeakers to call on occupants to exit peacefully.

Two armed insurgents were killed when they exited a building and threatened the patrol, the release said.

Four men, eight women and nine children exited peacefully during the operation and were protected, the ISAF said.

The men were detained after testing showed they had recently handled explosives, and they were handed over to Afghan security forces for questioning.