KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says a roadside mine killed the governor of Shebako District in western Farah province along with his son and five bodyguards.

The provincial governor's spokesman, Mohammad Naser Mehri, blamed Tuesday's powerful explosion on the Taliban, although no one immediately claimed responsibility.

Mehri said the district governor, Abdul Rahim Haydari, was returning home when the mine destroyed the vehicle in which he was a passenger, killing everyone inside the vehicle.

The Taliban have stepped up their attacks in the north and west of the country in recent days taking control of two separate districts, one in Faryab province and one in Ghor province and temporarily closing a key highway linking the capital Kabul to northern Afghanistan.