30 killed in Afghan violence within 2 days

Thirty people, mostly militants, have been killed in Afghan violence within two days, said authorities on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, two civilians were killed and three others wounded when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attached to a bicycle went off in Jalalabad, the capital city of eastern Nangarhar province, 120 km east of national capital Kabul. "An Improvised Explosive Device attached to a bicycle was detonated at around 7:00 a.m. local time in Pul-e-Behsud area of the city. The explosion killed two innocent civilians and injured three others," the provincial government said in a statement. It noted that the three wounded, who slightly injured in the attack, were discharged from a hospital shortly after receiving medical treatment. The obvious target of the bombing remained unknown. But the provincial government blamed the Taliban insurgent group for placing the bomb. The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group launched annual rebel offensive in April against Afghan government forces and about 98,000 NATO-led troops stationed in the country. Earlier on Tuesday morning, one policeman was killed and two others wounded when Taliban laid an ambush attack against a police mobile in Baghlan-e-Markazi district of northern Baghlan province, 160 km north of Kabul, a provincial police spokesman Jawi Basharat told Xinhua. On Monday night, one policeman and one militant were killed and one police cop was injured when Taliban launched an attacked on a police checkpoint in Baghlan's Burka district, the spokesman added. The Taliban urged civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers regarded as the legitimate targets by militants besides warning people not to support the government and foreign troops. In Kabul, one suicide bomber was shot dead and several militants were injured when they tried to assault a police checkpoint near the Kabul International Airport Monday night, local media reported. No policeman was hurt in the shooting lasting for a while. Earlier on Tuesday, the Afghan Interior Ministry said in a press statement that the Afghan National Security Forces killed seven Taliban rebels and detained six others during operations in seven provinces. During the raids since Monday morning, the Afghan police discovered and seized 137 kg of explosives and 670 kg of poppy opium. Up to 11 militants were killed, four wounded and 18 arrested during the same operations on Monday, according to the Interior Ministry. Eight Taliban militants had been killed in three separate incidents in former Taliban stronghold -- southern Kandahar province, 450 km south of Kabul, on Monday, the provincial government confirmed in separate statements. Violent attacks are still common in war-hit Afghanistan despite announcement of Taliban of carrying out peace talks with the U.S. and some prominent Afghans. For the purpose, the Taliban opened a liaison office in Qatari capital of Doha on June 18 this year to conduct peace talks. However, no official talk had take place there so far. A total of 2,500 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in acts of terrorism and violence from Jan. 1 to mid-June this year, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) said recently.