By Abdul Haleem

    KABUL, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Suicide attacks and roadside bombings conducted by anti-government militants in Afghanistan have often hurt civilians rather than military men as over a dozen non-combatants including women and children lost their lives over the past week in such attacks.

    In the latest of waves of such attacks an explosion which rocked Afghan capital Kabul Sunday killed at least one woman and injured two others, according to defense ministry.

Children watch the site of the bomb blast in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, June 1, 2008. A roadside mine triggered by a remote-controller targeted a bus of Afghan national army in Kabul Sunday morning, killing one woman and injuring two civilians and three army personnel.  (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    "Militants in a remote-controlled bombing against the mini-bus of the personnel of National Army this morning martyred an innocent lady citizen and injured five others including two civilians," a defense ministry statement released here said.

    On Saturday a suicide car bomb in Jalalabad the provincial capital of Nangarhar province in east Afghanistan killed two soldiers of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

    Attack in Jalalabad followed a similar deadly car bomb against international troops in Kabul on May 29 during which three civilians were killed and five others sustained injuries, while two foreign soldiers, according to locals, received injuries.

    A remote-controlled bomb in Afghanistan's troubled Helmand province on Friday claimed the lives of two children and injured two others, while on May 27 a roadside bomb struck a civilian mini-bus in the country's western Farah province, leaving eight passengers dead.

People watch the site of the bomb blast in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, June 1, 2008.  (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Moreover, a suicide attack which shocked Lashkargah, the capital of the militancy-hit Helmand province, on May 28 left at least one civilian dead and wounded several others.

    Taliban insurgents whose regime was ousted by the U.S.-led military invasion in late 2001 have vowed to intensify their attacks against Afghan troops and Afghan-based foreign forces this year.

    The attacks mostly in the shape of suicide offensive and roadside bombings have been described by officials as "losing strength by militants."

    Afghan defense ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said recently that Taliban insurgents had lost the ability to confront troops and that was why they resorted to suicide bombing.

    Over 8,000 people including militants, troops and civilians had been killed in insurgency-related violent incidents in Afghanistan in 2007, the bloody year since the collapse of Taliban regime.

A child cries at the site of the bomb blast in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, June 1, 2008.  (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The war-ravaged country had witnessed more than 140 suicide attacks and several hundred more roadside bombings last year, officials say.

    The trend, according to Taliban militants, would continue this year, as Taliban commanders say they have prepared hundreds of suicide bombers to carry on the wild tactic.

    Afghan troops as well as nearly 70,000 NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the U.S.-led Coalition forces have so far been facing tough challenge in preventing suicide bombings to ensure durable security in Afghanistan.