DUBAI, April 23 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban movement denied on Monday any role in deadly bombings in the southern town of Khost on Sunday and blamed them on local disputes. "The mujahideen of the Islamic state did not have any role in the two incidents, which were part of a chain of personal disputes among the people from the province," said the militant group in a statement posted on the Internet. Several people were killed in a suicide bombing and a bomb explosion in Khost on Sunday. The first blast occurred in a mobile telephone shop in a crowded produce market in Khost, the scene of a series of Taliban attacks in recent weeks. An hour later a suicide bomber blew himself up killing three civilians after being chased by police, just metres away from the previous explosion. No one claimed responsibility for the bombs, but shopkeepers suspected the Taliban and said the target may have been the mobile phone shop, where residents regularly download music into their phones. The Taliban have targeted music shops in the past as part of their harsh interpretation of Islam. Music, film and videos were banned under their 1996-2001 rule of Afghanistan. "The target of the bombings that the mujahideen carry out on the sided of roads is always the foreign occupation troops and their agents. The mujahideen denounce attacks that result in civilian casualties," said the statement. Violence has been rising in Afghanistan following a winter lull, after last year witnessed the bloodiest fighting since the Taliban were ousted in 2001. The group has vowed to drive out foreign troops from Afghanistan and topple the elected and Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai. Close to 4,000 people were killed last year. Several hundred, including about 30 Western troops, have died so far this year, regarded as a critical period for all concerned.
