Kabul, Aug 26 (DPA) A senior provincial official was killed in northern Afghanistan Wednesday while the death toll for a deadly blast in the southern city of Kandahar city reached 43, officials said.

Qari Jahangir, head of the justice department of the northern province of Kunduz, was driving to his office Wednesday morning when a bomb which was placed in his car exploded in the centre of Kunduz city, Abdul Razaq Yaqoubi, the provincial police chief said.

He said Jahangir, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, was killed and his car was badly damaged in the explosion.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, speaking by phone from an undisclosed location, claimed that their fighters placed the bomb. He said the bomb, which was remotely detonated, killed three more officials in the vehicle.

Taliban-led attacks are on the rise in the northern region, which was relatively peaceful until recently except for sporadic attacks, mostly roadside bombs.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday's deadly blast in Kandahar province killed 43 people and wounded 65.

Gholam Ali Wahdat, the police commander for the southern region, said earlier that 40 were killed and more than 64 other people, mostly civilians were wounded in the blast, which was triggered by a truck full of explosives.

Officials in the province had earlier said that they believe the explosion was caused by several explosive-laden vehicles that went off simultaneously.

Zelmai Ayoubi, spokesman for the provincial governor of Kandahar gave a different death toll, saying the blast killed 38 people, mostly civilians, and including four Pakistani workers who were employed by a Japanese construction company.