KABUL, Afghanistan, September 02, SPA -- A suicide bomber detonated his explosives as Afghanistan's deputy chief of intelligence visited a mosque east of Kabul on Wednesday, killing the Afghan official and 22 others. The explosion ripped through a crowd in Laghman provincejust as officials were leaving the main mosque inMehterlam, 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Kabul. Two topprovincial officials from Laghman were among the dead, andthe blast destroyed several government vehicles. A Taliban spokesman said a suicide bomber on foot targetedAbdullah Laghmani, the deputy chief of Afghanistan'sNational Directorate for Security. The spokesman forLaghman's governor, Sayed Ahmad Safi, confirmed Laghmaniwas killed, the Associated Press reported.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/697320