A suicide bomber said to be aged 12 has killed four people in east Afghanistan, one of several attacks a day after the Taliban announced a spring offensive.

A dozen people were injured as the suicide bomber struck a crowded market in Paktika province, killing a local official, a woman and two other men.

In Ghazni City, a gunman opened fire at a police checkpoint, killing two police officers and two civilians.

A bicycle bomb near the city's police station wounded 13 civilians.

Lethal attacks were also also reported in Logar province south of Kabul, and in Kandahar, in the south of Afghanistan.