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Policemen killed in Afghan blast Afghanistan hit by twin attacks
(about 6 hours later)
At least five Afghan policemen have been killed after a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in eastern Afghanistan, the police said. At least eight people - six Afghan policemen and two civilians - have been killed in two bomb explosions in Afghanistan, police say.
Thursday morning's attack happened in Khost province. The policemen were part of a convoy of US-led forces. The policemen were killed in the eastern province of Khost, when a roadside bomb detonated near their vehicle patrolling with foreign forces.
There are no reports of any casualties among soldiers in the convoy.There are no reports of any casualties among soldiers in the convoy.
Correspondents say this year the south and east of Afghanistan have seen the worst violence since the Taleban were ousted from power in 2001. Two civilians were killed when their vehicle was bombed in neighbouring Paktika province, Nato officials say.
The police said additional troops had been sent to the area - where the attack took place - for search operations. 'Tip of the spear'
There has been rising violence in Afghanistan recently. Correspondents say this year the south and east of Afghanistan have seen the worst violence since 2001.
The police said additional troops had been sent to the area of the Khost attack for search operations.
Neither Nato nor US-led military forces have commented on the Khost attack, and it is not clear to which organisation the foreign troops belonged.
Reports quoted a Taleban spokesman as saying they were responsible for the attack.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kabul says that both Khost and Paktika share long borders with Pakistan and both have been hit hard by insurgency-related violence.
The police have suffered many casualties recently, as violence across the country has intensified.
On Tuesday, 17 people, including 12 schoolchildren, were killed in a suicide bombing in south Afghanistan.On Tuesday, 17 people, including 12 schoolchildren, were killed in a suicide bombing in south Afghanistan.
Another 30 people were injured, some seriously, in the attack on a busy market place in Uruzgan. The Nato-led international force (Isaf) said eight of its soldiers were among the injured. At a press conference, the outgoing head of the section of the coalition which is training the Afghan security forces described the police as the "tip of the spear" in protecting the country's people, with a presence in every village.
Maj-Gen Robert E Durbin said the force still only had 40% of the required equipment such as vehicles and weapons, and that it was underpaid compared with the army.
But he said these matters were being rectified and praised the quality of people joining the security forces.