Afghan intelligence officer killed

A senior intelligence officer has been killed in an attack in south-eastern Afghanistan.

Mohammed Isa, deputy intelligence chief in the troubled province of Khost, was shot dead while on his way into work.

The attacker then tried to escape but blew himself up while being chased by Mr Isa's guards.

Khost is close to the border with Pakistan and US forces stationed there come under frequent attack from suspected members of al-Qaeda and the Taleban .

Reports quote officials as saying that the attacker stopped Mohammed Isa's car as he drove up to his office.

"When he opened the window to talk to him, he pulled a gun out from under his blanket and opened fire," Hayatullah Taniwal, a spokesman for the provincial government, told the Associated Press.

The attack follows two recent suicide bombings in Kabul, in which Canadian and British peacekeepers were killed.