KANDAHAR, Oct. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- A 40-feet oil tanker full of explosive material was seized in southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Friday, spokesman of the provincial governor said here.

    "The tanker entered Spin Boldak by way of Chaman on the other side of the border with Pakistan this morning and was seized by security forces. Three foreigners were also detained in this case," spokesman Khalid Pashtun told journalists in Kandahar city at a press briefing.

    He declined to reveal the identities of the foreign nationals held in this regard but Afghan officials usually accuse Pakistan of backing the Taliban's operatives while Islamabad rejects such allegations as unfounded.

    The former stronghold of the Taliban movement, Kandahar and its neighboring provinces have been the scene of increasing insurgency for the last 10 months in which over 400 civilians, US and Afghan troops as well as rebels and aid workers had been killed.

    The area has been the scene of gun battles between the government and militants since Thursday in which three suspected Taliban were killed, six inured and five others detained, according to local officials.

    Like other cities, security for the presidential elections has been tight in Kandahar as all the entry and exit points and roads are closed to traffic and police are in high alert to meet any eventuality.

    On Thursday, a small car full of explosives was captured by security forces in the city and was detonated outside the capital of the southern province, the spokesman also disclosed.

    Taliban's loyalists whose regime was unseated in late 2001 havethreatened to derail the Oct. 9 presidential elections. Enditem