MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Two security personnel lost their lives and five others sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck a police van in Shortepa district of the northern Balkh province on Sunday, spokesman for provincial government Munir Ahmad Farhad said on Monday.

Speaking from provincial capital Mazar-e-Sharif, the official said that the deadly incident occurred in Toqi village Sunday afternoon, killing two police on the spot and injuring three others.

The rate of government forces casualties has gone up in recent months. Afghan Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami told Afghan Mushrano Jirga, or upper house of parliament, on Sunday that 30 security personnel lose their lives on average every day in fighting against militants.