A senior Afghan official in south-eastern Zabul province escaped unhurt but his two guards were injured when their convoy was ambushed by the Taleban overnight, officials said Saturday.
The attack occurred near Zabul's capital Qalat late on Friday, provincial security chief Mohammed Ayob told AFP, speaking by satellite phone.
A bullet passed through the turban of Mohibullah, chief of Zabul's See-yoray district, while his two guards were hit and one of them seriously wounded, he said. Ayob said security forces arrested a well-known Taleban fighter after an exchange of gunfire which lasted for more than an hour.
Mohibullah was on his way to Qalat to visit an Afghan aid organisation when the attack took place.
Ayob, who did not identify the lone Taleban fighter, said the militant had confessed to having received training in neighbouring Pakistan.
"The Talib has been sent to Kabul to the war on terror department of the interior ministry for interrogation." Taleban rebels have launched frequent attacks against US-led forces, Afghan militiamen and government officials in recent months in a bid to regain influence after the ouster of hard-line Islamic militia from power in late 2001.
The wave of violence in south and south-east Afghanistan has forced UN and humanitarian agencies to scale back operations, undermining urgently needed reconstruction work as the country attempts to rebuild after 23 years of war.
In another incident Saturday, a security guard accidentally shot dead an ex-soldier outside the front gate of a building being used by a United Nations disarmament programme in the quiet northern city of Kunduz.
"Initial indications indicate that this was the result of an accidental discharge of a weapon belonging to a MOI (Ministry of Interior) guard working at the entrance of the regional office," spokesman for the UN's Afghanistan New Beginnings Programme said. An investigation is underway and the security guard has been taken into police custody, he said.
In a separate attack, two rockets were fired overnight at a school in Jona village of Charbolak district in northern Balkh province.
No one was injured and there was little damage, local police commander Akram Khakrizwal said Saturday.