A suicide bomber has attacked a provincial intelligence chief in northern Afghanistan, wounding the official and killing a young boy.

Police say the attacker detonated his explosives near Sayed Ahmad Sadat's convoy in the capital of Faryab province, Maimanah, early Monday.

A child was killed. Sadat and at least four other people were wounded in the blast, which took place as the chief of Faryab's National Directorate of Security traveled to his office.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, authorities say the Taliban killed five Afghan soldiers in the western province of Farah over the weekend. Three other soldiers were wounded in the ambush.

International forces are in the process of handing over security responsibility to their Afghan counterparts as they begin pulling out of Afghanistan. Foreign combat troops are set to complete their withdrawal from the country by the end of 2014.