A suicide bomber blew himself up near a group of Afghan army soldiers killing two and injuring seven others including five civilians on Wednesday, the provincial police chief said.

"A suicide bomber blew himself up in Barmal district's bazaar at 12:15 p.m. local time near a group of Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers. As a result two soldiers were killed and seven others including two soldiers and five civilians sustained injuries," Dault Khan Zadran told Xinhua.

The soldiers were in the bazaar to buy something when the bomber targeted them, the police officer said.

He added that the bomber who strapped explosive on his body was also killed in the blast.

However, he said most of the injured persons were in stable condition.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban militants who often carry out such bombings have yet to make comment.

Paktika and the neighboring Khost and Paktia provinces have been experiencing escalating Taliban-led militancy over the past couple of years.

Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops in a car bomb blast killed two people and injured 26 others mostly policemen in southern Kandahar province on Monday.