The acting governor of Afghanistan's province of Khost and several senior officials are reported to have been wounded by a blast inside the governor's office.
The official's wounds were not life-threatening, an Afghan army general said on Thursday.
Khost lies on the country's southeastern 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," General Mohammad Nawab said.
An investigation has been launched into what caused the blast.
The attack came a day after Kai Eide, the outgoing UN special envoy to Afghanistan, said more emphasis needed to be put on a civilian rather than a military strategy in the fight to defeat the country's anti-government forces.
The blast came a week after a suicide bomber killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer at a base in the province, where US-led forces have been fighting a Taliban-linked network based across the Pakistan border.
PHOTO CAPTION
Map of Afghanistan locating the province of Khost.
Al-Jazeera