Militants fire rocket at Nato base

The twin attacks, which caused no casualties among members of the 8,300-strong International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, highlighted the deteriorating security situation in Kabul.

The remote-controlled bomb was set on a bicycle left on the side of the main road from Kabul to the eastern city of Jalalabad and detonated at about 9:30am (0500 GMT), district police chief Mohammed Akbar told AFP.

"Seven people were injured, some of them seriously: four were in a taxi passing by, three were pedestrians," Akbar said. "The taxi driver was seriously injured and was taken to hospital."

Meanwhile, a minibus hit an old landmine left over from Afghani-stan's war-shattered past, killing five people and wounding another, police said yesterday.

The incident happened on Saturday near the town of Khash Rod in remote western Nimroz province, which borders both Pakistan and Iran, provincial deputy police chief Haji Nafas Khan told AFP.