Blast kills powerful Afghan police chief

Afghan policemen inspect the outside of the governor office in Takhar province May 28, 2011.

TALOQAN, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed one of the most powerful men in north Afghanistan, along with a provincial police chief and three German troops, when he attacked a meeting of political and military leaders for once-peaceful Takhar province.

NATO's commander for the northern region and the governor of Takhar province were also in the provincial council gathering, but survived the attack, officials said.

The most high-profile casualty was General Dawood Dawood, police chief of north Afghanistan, a former deputy interior minister and before that a close associate of mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Masood.

The loss of such a prominent and influential leader is a big blow to a force which is struggling to professionalise and shake off a reputation for abuse and corruption as foreign forces prepare to hand over security responsibilities in coming years.

It may also complicate NATO efforts to prepare for the start of a security handover from foreign forces to Afghan soldiers and police in some parts of north Afghanistan.

Takhar police chief Shah Jahan Noori, two other Afghan policemen and three German troops were also killed in the attack, said Faiz Mohammad Tawhidi, spokesman for the provincial governor. At least 10 people were wounded.

The attacker was wearing police uniform, Tawhidi said, making this the latest in a string of attacks by rogue members of the armed forces or insurgents who have used uniforms to slip through security cordons.

The police chief of Kandahar province, Khan Mohammad Khan was killed by another attacker wearing police uniform in mid-April, and authorities have struggled to find a replacement.

An insurgent in army uniform also struck inside the Defence Ministry headquarters in Kabul a few days afterwards, killing two although neither was a senior leader.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack, saying they had targeted the meeting of senior leaders.

"Fighters are still inside the governor's compound," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

The Taliban often exaggerate claims about attacks.

ARMY CONCERNS

Takhar province was once so peaceful that there is no major permanent base for foreign troops there. German troops supervise the area from a base in neighbouring Kunduz province.

But violence has risen sharply in recent months, as the insurgency gathers strength in northern areas.

A mosque bombing last October killed the governor of Kunduz while he was attending Friday prayers and a Dutch aid worker was taken hostage there the same month.

Earlier this week at least 14 people were killed in violent protests about a night raid by foreign forces.

Fighters under pressure in traditional strongholds because of a surge in U.S. troops are seeking spectacular urban attacks to underline their reach, and the use of rogue police and troops, or insurgents in Afghan uniforms, has been growing.

The Taliban this month announced the start of a long-expected "spring offensive", vowing to carry out attacks including suicide bombings on foreign and Afghan troops and government officials.

The assaults by uniformed insurgents also highlight the pressure the U.S. and NATO troops face as they race to prepare Afghan security forces for a security handover which begins later this year.

Western forces in Afghanistan have begun to train counter-intelligence agents to help root out Taliban infiltrators in the Afghan army and police, General William Caldwell, head of the U.S. and NATO training mission in Afghanistan, said recently.

(Additional reporting by Fraidoon Elham in KUNDUZ and Hamid Shalizi in KABUL, writing by Emma Graham-Harrison, editing by Paul Tait and Myra MacDonald)