Four suspected Taleban militants were killed in southern Afghanistan early Wednesday when a bomb they were attempting to plant on a highway exploded, a provincial governor said. "Four Taleban who were trying to plant a remote-controlled bomb in the Langar area, by the side of the highway en route to Tirin Kot, blew themselves up," Uruzgan governor Jan Mohammed told AFP.
"Police discovered the bodies along with four Kalashnikovs," he said.
The area around Tirin Kot in troubled Uruzgan province has been the scene of frequent attacks by militants who often use crudely made bombs.
Suspected Taleban militants also attacked a government highway patrol in neighbouring Zabul province late Tuesday, said police official Mohammed Turfan.
One militant and a policeman were injured in the gunfight, he said. Taleban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi claimed responsibility for the attack.