Twin blasts wound 12 civilians in east Afghanistan

Twelve civilians were wounded Wednesday morning in two successive blasts in the eastern Afghan province of Paktiya, said a provincial government spokesman. "Two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were detonated back-to- back when two police mobile were passing by Ghanzi-line and Khost- line areas of the provincial capital Gardez city. The first explosion took place at around 11:00 a.m. local time," spokesman Rohullah Sammon told Xinhua. He said no member of police units were harmed in the incident in the city 100 km south of national capital Kabul. 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. 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. Earlier on Wednesday, the brother of Afghan National Security Council Chief, who serves as a district prosecutor, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the western province of Herat, 640 km west of Kabul. Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, recently said that Taliban will step up their attacks through the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan staring from July 10.