![Abdul Hakim Taniwal at an election count in September 2005 [Photo by Danny Aeberhard]](http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42073000/jpg/_42073482_taniwal203long.jpg)
At least five people have been killed in a suicide attack at the funeral of an assassinated Afghan provincial governor.
Several people were wounded in the blast at the funeral of Paktia Governor Abdul Hakim Taniwal, who was killed in a suicide attack on Sunday.
A number of cabinet ministers were believed to be attending the ceremony.
Mr Taniwal is the highest-ranking Afghan official to die in Afghanistan's renewed violence.
The Taleban has claimed responsibility for his death.
Police say a suicide bomber blew himself up as the funeral was taking place in the Tani district of Khost, a neighbouring province to Paktia.
A hospital doctor told the AFP news agency that the five dead were police officers, and 30 people had been injured.
'Man of action'
An Associated Press Television cameraman at the scene said the blast happened as an official delegation from Kabul was leaving the ceremony and heading towards for a helicopter that had flown them in.
It is unclear if anyone in the delegation was hurt in the blast.
Abdul Hakim Taniwal was attacked outside his office in the provincial capital Gardez on Sunday. A bodyguard and driver were also killed.
A suicide bomber with explosives attached to his body targeted the governor and his entourage as they left in a car.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai described him as "a patriot, a man of both action and academic achievements."
"He was also a personal friend of mine, who returned from abroad to serve his nation," he added in a statement.
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