KHOST, Afghanistan, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Two Afghan children were killed and over a dozen others of the same family were injured as a mortar mine fired by Taliban militants hit their house in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province, spokesman for provincial administration Hamidullah Zhawak said Tuesday.

    "A boy and a girl were killed and 13 other members of their family got wounded as a mortar shot by militants hit their house in Yaya Khil district Monday night," Zhawak told Xinhua.

    The incident occurred after heavy gun battle erupted between Taliban militants and security guards escorting a convoy of a road Construction Company in the area, he added.

    Two more employees of a road construction company were killed and two others sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in the same province on Monday morning.

    As part of a new tactic, Taliban militants have resorted to roadside bombings and attack construction workers and supplying convoys to mount pressure on Afghan government.