Grenades at Afghan mosque, bicycle bomb injure 23

Nearly two dozen Afghan civilians were wounded today when two grenades exploded inside a mosque compound and a bicycle bomb blew up in a city market, officials said.

The violence came a day after bomb blasts around Afghanistan killed at least 50 people in the deadliest day for civilians this year, as Taliban insurgents and other militants ramp up violence across the country.

The Taliban summer offensive coincides with Afghan police and soldiers taking on more responsibility for security while international forces start to withdraw.

Separately, NATO reported that one of its service members was killed today in an insurgent attack in the east. NATO did not disclose the nationality of the soldier or provide any more details. So far this year, 285 international troops have been killed in Afghanistan.

At least nine worshippers were wounded when the grenades exploded during morning prayers at a mosque in Baghi Sara area, Khost police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai said.

One exploded inside the mosque and the other went off in a courtyard outside. The third failed to detonate.

Zazai blamed Taliban insurgents for the attack. "This was the work of the enemy," he said. "It cannot be a private dispute. Why would anyone be so angry to throw grenades in a mosque while people are praying?"

He said many of the worshippers were Afghans who work at the nearby US post, Forward Operating Base Salerno.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid issued a statement that did not acknowledge the mosque attack but claimed an insurgent suicide bomber had attacked a US base in Khost, causing several American casualties.

A spokesman for the NATO military coalition said today that there was no attack on the Salerno base, which is close to the mosque in Baghi Sara. Lt Col. Hagen Messer said the American personnel at the base reported hearing gunfire from the mosque but that Afghan police were investigating.

At least 14 people, including four women and a policeman, were injured when explosives set up on a bicycle exploded at a market in the city of Herat while people were shopping for an upcoming Muslim holiday, said Noor Khan Nekzad, a spokesman for the provincial police.

The latest violence follows a particularly bloody day for Afghanistan. Suicide bombers launched multiple attacks in remote Nimroz province in southwestern Afghanistan near the Iranian border yesterday, killing dozens of people, including shoppers buying sweets for a Muslim holiday. The bombings left charred and smoldering bits of cookies and dried fruit among the bodies on the ground.