Soldier of Afghan National Army looks at torn clothes of bomber after suicide attack in outskirts of Khost, 23 May 2008

A suicide bomber has attacked an Afghan army convoy in eastern Afghanistan, killing four soldiers and one child.

An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, Zahir Azimi, says four Afghan soldiers were also wounded in Friday's attack in Khost province.

News agencies report the bombing is similar to others carried by Taliban insurgents.

On Thursday, former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani said the Taliban had shown a readiness for political dialogue and that every effort should be made to establish such contacts to end the insurgency.

Rabbani said the alliance of opposition parties he now leads received a letter, in which the militants said they would accept international conventions and would not oppose education for girls.

Meanwhile, one NATO soldier and two Afghan civilians were killed Thursday during a protest in central Ghor province against a U.S. soldier who shot at a copy of the Koran in Iraq.

The protest turned violent when demonstrators began throwing rocks and setting tents on fire. Afghan police opened fire on the crowd, killing the two civilians and wounding several others.

The NATO mission in Afghanistan says it is not clear how the soldier - from Lithuania - was killed.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.