Afghanistan intelligence chief Asadullah Khalid has been wounded in an assassination attempt in Kabul but is in a stable condition, according to officials.
Initial reports said a suicide bomber carried out the attack early Thursday afternoon inside the National Directorate of Security (NDS) guesthouse in Kabul's Taimani area St 8, where Khalid was meeting other NDS officials.
Subsequent reports from NDS officials who were at the house claim that the attack was not done by a suicide bomber but rather it was a hand grenade attack.
The Taliban claimed responsibility in a statement to media late Thursday afternoon saying it was a suicide attack carried out by a man named Hafiz Mohammed. No other details of the bomber were provided.
Khalid was rushed to hospital but was said by NDS officials to be in a stable condition.
Two others were wounded in the blast.
Khalid was known for his tough opposition to the militant Taliban and the Pakistan intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
He was the MInister of Tribal and Border Affairs until he was appointed head of the NDS by President Hamid Karzai in September.
The NDS described the incident as a terrorist attack in a statement to media saying the investigation continues.