Nineteen people, including five policemen, were killed when the office of a provincial governor in northern Afghanistan came under attack from suicide bombers on Sunday, officials said, dpa reported.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said 34 people, including three police officers were injured in the attack in the provincial capital of Charikar.
Six suicide attackers targeted the office of Basir Salangi, the governor of relatively peaceful Parwan province, as a meeting with foreign officials was proceeding.
"A suicide bomber blew himself up next to the governor's office gate and let five other suicide bombers get inside the compound," a ministry statement said.
Three bombers were killed by police, while two others were able to detonate their explosive-packed vests, it said.
Roshana Khalid, the provincial spokeswoman said, those who were killed were employees of the governor's office.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, he said the target had been the high-profile meeting.
NATO-led international forces had provided assistance to the Afghan-led response, Captain Justin Brockhoff, a spokesman for the coalition forces, said.
The Taliban insurgents, fighting a 10-year war, appear to have changed their tactics in recent weeks, launching deadly spectacular attacks on political and government figures.
Last month, the head of Kandahar Provincial Council and half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai was killed in his house. The same month, the mayor of Kandahar was killed in his office.