An Afghan Muslim devotee lives and prays in isolation in a mosque during Itikaf, the last ten days of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, in the city of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 The attack in eastern Khost province came a day after a series of bombs around Afghanistan killed at least 50 people in the deadliest day for civilians this year as Taliban insurgents and their allies ramp up violence across the country. Most of those killed in the triple suicide bombing in Nimruz province, in southwestern Afghanistan, and a remote-controlled blast in Kunduz province in the north were people out shopping for their nightly iftar, the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and for the holiday feast beginning this weekend that marks Ramadan's end. The bombings were widely condemned, with Gen. John Allen, the U.S. commander of the Western military in Afghanistan, calling them "intentional mass murder." In Nimruz and Kunduz, the targets were civilian areas, distant from any military installation. Civilian war casualties fell by 15% in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2011, the United Nations reported this month, but the advent of the warm-weather "fighting season" has seen an increase in violence across Afghanistan.
– A series of brutal attacks across Afghanistan made yesterday the deadliest day of the year so far for the country's civilians. At least 48 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in shootings and bombings, including a triple suicide bombing in the normally peaceful province of Nimruz, which borders Iran. Bombers there targeted a bazaar bustling with people buying treats for the end-of-Ramadan holiday this weekend, and then attacked a hospital where the injured from the first blast where being treated and where worried relatives had gathered, reports the Los Angeles Times. This morning, at least nine people were injured in a mosque in eastern Afghanistan when grenades were thrown inside during morning prayers. The attacks are seen as a Taliban show of force and an attempt to weaken the country's security forces, who will take control across the country in 28 months as NATO departs. The Taliban "want to expand their influence—show that they are everywhere," an Afghan political analyst tells the AP. "They want to show that the Afghan police are not strong enough so they are targeting the security forces and the government."