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 July 12 by a guard during a gathering at his house a day earlier.

He was laid to rest on July 13, with the president in attendance, said Hashim Watanwal, a Kandahar lawmaker.

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 guard then "takes Wali to another room and shoots him with a pistol that he had in his hand," Khakrezwal said. The shooter was shot dead by other guards.

Sardar Mohammad was a trusted man who had worked as a guard for Karzai for eight years, Khakrezwal said. He was also a commander for a police post where there were about 30 policemen.

Karzai suffered bullet wounds to his head and chest, said Mohammad Dawood Farhad, the head of Kandahar Hospital.

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