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Two people die as wave of attacks hits Afghanistan

At least two Afghans were killed and six wounded yesterday in an explosion at a government military post near the former Taliban stronghold of Khost in southeastern Afghanistan, police said.

The blast came hours after more than 20 rockets landed near Khost's airport, where US-led forces are based, they said.

It was the biggest single rocket attack since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, but US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Bryan Hilferty reported no casualties.

"There were no coalition casualties, and, thankfully, the terrorist attack does not appear to have killed or wounded any of the nearby civilians," he said in a statement.

Coalition forces returned fire with artillery and precision-guided bombs but "at this time there is no indication of anti-coalition militia casualties," Hilferty said.

The attacks in Khost are the latest in a wave of incidents in which more than 550 people have been killed in the last six months, mostly in southern and eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban militia remnants are most active.

In the explosion on the outskirts of Khost, a government soldier guarding the post was killed along with one civilian, and five soldiers and another civilian were wounded, said Mohammad Zaman, a senior local police official.

"There is no doubt that the Taliban carried out the two attacks," Zaman said.

The incidents came two days after Khost's deputy intelligence chief was shot dead by a suspected Taliban militant who then blew himself up to avoid being arrested.

Khost used to be part of the heartland of the Taliban, over-thrown by US-led troops for harboring Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network.

US soldiers in Khost, part of the 10,600-strong American-led force hunting al Qaeda and remnants of the Taliban, regularly come under rocket attacks and ambushes, most of which are ineffective.

"We had 21 rockets hit near the airport, the most we've ever had at one time," Zaman said.

The lack of security has caused concern that wartorn Afghanistan's first-ever general elections planned for June could be hampered by militants or hijacked by regional commanders, trying to consolidate powerbases at the expense of the central government.
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