Abdul Ali Shamsi, Kandahar’s deputy governor, was among the 11 killed in Tuesday’s blast, a source told TOLOnews Wednesday.  

According to the source 16 others including Hamyoun Azizi, the provincial governor, and the ambassador and consul-general of the United Arab Emirates were wounded.

Yama Quraishi, an Afghan diplomat in the United States, was also among those killed, the source said.

According to him the explosives were placed in chairs in the meeting room of the guesthouse where the group of high-ranking officials from Kandahar had gathered to welcome the two UAE envoys.

The source said the UAE ambassador had been in Kandahar to open an orphanage.

He also said the target of the attack appeared to have been Kandahar police chief General Abdul Raziq. He was not harmed in the explosion.  

The Taliban has denied involvement and instead said the reason for the incident was because of internal disputes between local Kandahar officials.