Andam area, 10 kilometres east of Kandahar city, according to Ayub. It was not clear weather or not the mine had recently been planted. An explosion rocked Afghanistan's southern city of Spin Boldak early Sunday, killing a shopkeeper, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) quoted a local senior official as saying. Security chief Fazaluddin said the explosive device, planted near the entrance of a shop, went off when the shopkeeper opened the main door Sunday morning. On Saturday, the U.S.-led coalition forces said attacks by the Taliban rebels increased last winter, mainly in areas bordering Pakistan. Eastern and southern regions of Afghanistan have been the scene of frequent deadly attacks by Taliban and al-Qaeda suspects on government and U.S. installations and aid workers since the ousting of the hardline Taliban regime in late 2001. About 20,000 U.S.-led coalition forces are searching for al-Qaeda terrorists and their Taliban supporters in the war-ravaged country.
