A policeman, a military driver and two civilians were killed and an Afghan general was wounded in two separate attacks by suspected Taleban rebels in Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
A bomb tore through a military vehicle Monday in Urgun, a troubled district in the eastern province of Paktika, killing the driver and injuring General Zia-Ul Haq of the Afghan National Army and his bodyguard, officials said.
"It was the work of the Taleban," military official Sana-Ul Haq told AFP, adding that the bomb was detonated remotely. He did not say how he knew that the hard-line Islamic militia was behind the attack.
Also on Monday a policeman and two civilians died when armed men believed to be Taleban fighters opened fire on them in the restive southern province of Helmand, deputy governor Ghulam Muheedin said.
Two other policemen were injured in the attack, he said. The police and the civilians were talking together when the attack happened, he added.
The Taleban have waged an insurgency since they were ousted by US-led forces at the end of 2001. The violence has this year claimed more than 1,500 lives, although most of them were militants themselves.
The Afghan National Army currently numbers more than 25,000 troops and is being trained by US-led international forces to replace unlawful militia groups loyal to regional warlords.
The army, which is due to grow to 70,000 troops in future, is currently supporting the 20,000-strong US-led coalition in their hunt for remnants of the Taleban and other Islamic militant groups.