A suicide bomber has seriously injured a senior NATO commander in an attack on a heavily guarded compound in northern Afghanistan that also killed the local police chief and several NATO soldiers and Afghan officials, international media reported on Sunday.
Major General Markus Kneip, who commands the alliance's forces in northern Afghanistan, received severe wounds in the attack, which took place at around 4 p.m. local time (11:30 GMT) on Saturday, the Observer said.
The killed police chief was General Mohammed Daoud Daoud, a former deputy interior minister who previously served as bodyguard to Afghan militant leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, the paper said.
The attack took place in the governor's office in the northern Takhar province, BBC said, adding that at least seven people were killed by the blast.
The suicide bomber was reportedly dressed in police uniform.
The attack comes as the U.S.-led international coalition is preparing to begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan in July and hand over responsibility for security to the local military and police.
MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti)
