Bomb targets occupation forces in Kabul
A bomb has exploded near a Dutch patrol on the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul.
A Dutch soldier with the International Security Assistance Force was slightly wounded in the explosion on Monday morning.
ISAF spokeswoman Major Sarah Wood said the soldier received a cut to his forehead.
The explosion happened a few hours before another bomb was found in a Kabul shopping street popular with foreigners, peacekeepers said on Tuesday.
Occupation forces targeted
Security forces defused the bomb, which was found in a shoebox in Chicken Street, which is also frequented by occupation forces battling the former Taliban regime and the al-Qaeda network.
A senior intelligence official said it was unclear who was responsible for planting the Chicken Street bomb, but noted that previous attacks had been blamed on the forces of the warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
A US embassy advisory said as many as seven improvised explosive devices had been found in Kabul in the past 36 hours, but Wood said she was aware of only three suspect incidents.
The US advisory said embassy employees had been restricted to only essential travel.
Mounting resistance
Earlier on Monday the U.S. military said Taliban fighters had stepped up attacks in southern provinces, with nine coalition soldiers wounded and up to 24 Taliban killed in the last four days.
They have admitted there is mounting resistance to their occupation by ex-regime forces who have regrouped.
It is thought that resistance fighters have taken advantage of the porous border with Pakistan to launch their attacks and then make tactical withdrawals.