KABUL, Dec. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Four Taliban militants were killed in an explosion Saturday when they installed the explosives in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, a local official saidSunday.

    "Last night at about 9 p.m. a group of Taliban militants were installing some explosives in the roadside of Ashqabad village of Maiwand district when the explosives suddenly exploded. We have found the bodies of four Taliban militants, and the investigation work is still going on," Mohammad nabi Edari, the district chief told Xinhua.

    Kandahar, together with Zabul, Helmand and Uruzgan, the former stronghold of Taliban militants, has become the hot spot this year.

    One policeman and three Taliban militants were killed Friday ina firefight between two sides in the same district of Kandahar.

    More than 1,500 people, with the majority of them Taliban militants, have been killed in the militancy. That makes 2005 the bloodiest one since the collapse of Taliban in 2001. Enditem