Elsewhere in Ghazni, two Afghan civilians were killed and two injured when a landmine apparently intended for security forces went off under their vehicle on Tuesday, Ahmadzai said. “The Taliban had planted the mine, aimed at us,” the police commander said.
In separate clashes between Taliban and security forces, seven militants were killed in an operation by Afghan and coalition forces in neighbouring Helmand province on Monday, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. “Seven terrorists who had infiltrated the area to destabilise it were killed during an operation by Afghan and coalition forces,” the statement said, referring to a 10,000-strong US-led force based in the province. The operation took place in Helmand’s troubled Sangin district, where four Afghan army soldiers were also injured the same day after their checkpost was attacked by Taliban rockets. Four other Taliban guerrillas were killed late Monday in the southwestern province of Farah, provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Sarjang told AFP. The militants had attacked a police compound, initiating a firefight that lasted two hours. Sarjang told AP that police sustained no casualties while six Taliban were also wounded.