Afghan police say they have shot and killed an attempted suicide bomber before he could detonate his explosives in the eastern province of Khost.

Wednesday's incident happened outside a bank in Khost city, near the Pakistani border.

It is not immediately clear whether the would-be suicide bomber was targeting the bank or a nearby police station.

Police are also looking for a possible second attacker who escaped.

Khost province is a known stronghold of the Haqqani network, an al-Qaida-linked militant group that U.S. officials blame for a series of high-profile attacks in Afghanistan.