Kabul, Mar 12: A jeep carrying Afghan soldiers ran over a land mine that exploded in eastern Afghanistan, killing one Afghan soldier and wounding five others, a senior military official said on Friday. The explosion occurred on Thursday in the district of Yaqubi in Khost province, 150 kilometers south of the capital, Kabul, said Gen. Khayal Baz, a senior military commander in Khost. Nobody claimed responsibility.

Suspected Taliban and al-Qaida militants have stepped up attacks against Afghan soldiers in recent months.

Baz said the victims of Thursday's explosion were returning from a village near Yaqubi after searching a home, where they believed that weapons were being hidden.

He gave no other details and only said Afghan forces were looking for the attackers. Bureau Report