Acting Afghan Governor Hurt In Khost Blast

KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) -- The acting governor of Afghanistan's southeastern Khost Province and several other senior provincial officials have been wounded by a blast inside the governor's office, an Afghan army general said.

The wounds to the officials were not life-threatening and an investigation was launched to find out what had caused the blast, the general, Mohammad Nawab, told reporters in the restive province on the border with Pakistan.

"The acting governor, his chief of staff, the head of education, and five other people, including police, were wounded in the blast," he said.

The blast came a week after a suicide bomber killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian spy at a base in the province, where U.S.-led forces have been fighting the Taliban-linked network of commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, based across the Pakistan border.

There was no immediate report of a claim of responsibility for today's blast, but Haqqani's followers and Taliban allies have carried out numerous attacks in the past in the province and the provincial capital.