Afghan police say a suicide bomber targeting a provincial governor killed one of the official's sons and six of his bodyguards.
Authorities say the governor of the southwestern province of Numruz escaped injury Monday, while on his way to work in the town of Zaranj. At least 14 other people were injured in the attack.
On Sunday, Afghan security officials said Taliban militants hanged five policeman in southern Afghanistan as a public warning to others.
The Uruzgan province police chief, Juma Gul Himat, describing the incident, said the five policemen had been abducted two months ago and were mutilated before being killed and their bodies hanged from trees.
In other developments, a provincial police official, Sayed Agha Saqeb, said Sunday that NATO-led forces killed at least 20 Taliban militants in fighting that began Saturday west of Kandahar. A Taliban spokesman, Yusuf Ahmadi, disputed the announcement, saying the Kandahar operation killed only four insurgents, and left many civilians dead.
Recent violence also claimed the lives of two Canadian soldiers and their interpreter.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
