KABUL, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- One Afghan army soldier was killed while two others wounded in two separate bomb attacks in Afghanistan, the country's Defense Ministry confirmed late Saturday.

"The two Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks took place in southern Kandahar and northern Faryab provinces," the ministry said in a statement.

The army specialists discovered and defused 43 IEDs and roadside bombs across the country since late Friday, the statement noted.

Several Taliban insurgent members were killed and rounds of the weapons and ammunition were seized in an army cleanup operation in Sangin district of southern Helmand province, the statement added.

Kandahar and Helmand are notorious for growing poppy and militancy.