Kabul  - A blast in southern Afghanistan killed a child and wounded four people, while coalition forces claimed they had killed "several extremists" and arrested 10 in two separate operations in the east of the country, officials said on Saturday.

The blast was triggered by explosives attached to a parked bicycle in the western part of Kandahar city, the provincial capital of the same name, on Saturday morning as a police vehicle was passing by, said Mohammad Iqbal, a police official at the scene of the incident.

The explosive that was detonated by a remote-controlled device killed a child and wounded two police officers and two civilians, he said.

Taliban militants, whose government was ousted in a US-led invasion in late 2001, have stepped up their attacks, mainly by roadside and suicide attacks, both tactics widely believed to have been copied from Iraqi insurgents.

Meanwhile, the US military said that its forces had killed "several extremists" and arrested four in an operation aimed to disrupt militant activities in the south-eastern province of Khost on Friday.

"During their search, the joint force identified two armed militants manoeuvring against their force. They responded with small arms fire and airstrikes, killing both militants," the military said in a statement.

In a separate operation, also on Friday, coalition forces detained eight other Taliban militants in eastern Nangahar province, the statement said.

The operation had targeted a Taliban militant known to have facilitated roadside and rocket attacks against the Afghan and coalition forces in the region, the military said. (dpa)