The remotely-detonated mine explosions in Kandahar's Maivand district wounded two soldiers but the Helmand governor, Mohammad Gulab Mangal, was unhurt, his office said.

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the Kandahar provincial council chief, was killed on Tuesday by a guard during a gathering at his house a day earlier.

Saidkhan Khakrezwal, a member of the Kandahar provincial council, said he and others were with Karzai when a guard named Sardar Mohammad came into the room and asked to talk to him.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying that the guard accused of shooting him was working for them.