<p class="title">Two bombs went off near-simultaneously on a road in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing two children and wounding nine people, a local official said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The explosions took place in the city of Mazr-i Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province, said Adil Shah Adil, the provincial police chief's spokesman. He said of the nine wounded, eight are civilians and one is a member of the Afghan security forces.</p>.<p class="bodytext">No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban have stepped up attacks in Balkh in recent weeks and elsewhere in northern Afghanistan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Earlier this month, the insurgents claimed an attack on a police checkpoint in Balkh that killed nine officers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Taliban holds sway over practically half of Afghanistan today, staging near-daily attacks that target soldiers, security forces and government officials but also kill scores of civilians — even as they hold peace talks with a U.S. envoy seeking a resolution to the 18-year war, America's longest conflict. (AP) RS RS</p>
<p class="title">Two bombs went off near-simultaneously on a road in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing two children and wounding nine people, a local official said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The explosions took place in the city of Mazr-i Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province, said Adil Shah Adil, the provincial police chief's spokesman. He said of the nine wounded, eight are civilians and one is a member of the Afghan security forces.</p>.<p class="bodytext">No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban have stepped up attacks in Balkh in recent weeks and elsewhere in northern Afghanistan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Earlier this month, the insurgents claimed an attack on a police checkpoint in Balkh that killed nine officers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Taliban holds sway over practically half of Afghanistan today, staging near-daily attacks that target soldiers, security forces and government officials but also kill scores of civilians — even as they hold peace talks with a U.S. envoy seeking a resolution to the 18-year war, America's longest conflict. (AP) RS RS</p>