A roadside bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan killed two Afghan civilians and wounded five others Sunday, while a clash in the south left four Taliban dead, officials said. The explosion happened in Yaqoubi district in eastern Khost province, said Wazir Pacha, a spokesman for the provincial police chief. Pacha accused the Taliban of carrying out the attack.

Militants often use roadside and suicide bomb attacks against Afghan and foreign troops in the country. Most victims of such attacks have been civilians.

In southern Afghanistan, meanwhile, Afghan security forces clashed with Taliban militants outside the town of Musa Qala in Helmand province, killing four insurgents, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The clash occurred just days after an offensive by Afghan, British and American troops pushed the militants out of the town, which they had controlled for more than 10 months.