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KABUL, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants have stepped up activities in conflict-hit Afghanistan as people prepare to celebrate Nawroz or the New Year falling on March 21.
The armed insurgents launched a series of offensives in a single day on Friday.
In a suicide car bomb against an army base in the eastern Khost Province, two people including the bomber and an army soldier had been confirmed dead and seven more soldiers sustained injuries, according to an army official in the province.
The Taliban outfit in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attack, insisting the bombing inflicted huge casualties to the soldiers.
In a similar attack also in the eastern Nangarhar Province on Friday afternoon, at least one person was killed and a few others injured.
According to a local official who declined to be identified, the target of the attacker was Zahir Haqqani, the director of Hajj and Religious affairs of Nangarhar Province but he escaped unhurt. However his brother was killed in the blast.
Although no group has claimed responsibility, the locals do not rule out the involvement of Taliban insurgents in the attack.
Similarly, Taliban militants in attack against government interests set on fire some oil tankers on the highway linking the northern Baghlan Province to Kunduz city on Friday morning.
Hundreds of travelers were stranded on the highway, according to local media reports.
Taliban militants traditionally intensify activities in spring and summer commonly known as the fighting season in the war-battered country.
