Taliban bomb kills Afghan governor, three guards

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said the insurgent group was responsible for the act.

KABUL: An Afghan district governor and three of his guards were killed Tuesday when their vehicle was blown up in a Taliban roadside bomb in the east of the country, an official said.

Asil Khan Khogyani, the governor of Sherzad district in Nangarhar province, was killed along with his guards while driving to work in the troubled region, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the provincial administration spokesman.

"Khogyani was killed in a roadside bomb attack. Three of his guards, one of them also driving the car, were also killed," he added.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed, contacting AFP from an undisclosed location, said the insurgent group was responsible.

"In a bomb attack, the Sherzad district governor was murdered today," he said.

Roadside bombs are the most commonly used weapon of the Taliban and are responsible for the bulk of military deaths in the US-led coalition force and Afghan security forces.

The home-made devices are placed on dirt roads used by Afghan and foreign military forces and are often detonated remotely.