Twelve people, including seven suspected militants, have been killed in a series of violent incidents in southern and eastern Afghanistan, officials said yesterday.

In one incident, a border guard was killed in a bomb blast in the eastern province of Paktika near the border with Pakistan, provincial governor Hamidullah Jwak said.

He added that seven suspected Taliban militants were later killed by security forces while allegedly planting bombs along a roadway.

In the southern province of Zabul, a bomb exploded while a construction vehicle was passing, killing two engineers and their driver, local police said.

Improvised explosive devices, targeting Afghan and international security forces, are often used by Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.