Kabul- A suicide bomber attacked a NATO base in eastern Afghanistan Thursday, wounding two NATO soldiers and four Afghan nationals, while nine insurgents were killed after they attacked a district governor, officials said.

The bomber attacked a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base in the Sabari district of the south-eastern province of Khost, an ISAF spokesman said.

The spokesman, who requested anonymity, said two ISAF soldiers and four Afghan nationals were wounded in the attack but did not say whether the wounded Afghans were also security personnel.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack and said one Taliban fighter detonated himself at the base while other insurgents stormed it with small-arms fire, inflicting "heavy casualties on the side of US soldiers."

Majahid, who was speaking on the phone from an undisclosed location, claimed Taliban fighters took control of the base after the ISAF forces retreated.

Meanwhile, Taliban militants ambushed a convoy Thursday in which the Gilan district governor of southern Ghazni province was travelling, sparking a fierce battle with security personnel escorting the convoy, said Sayed Ismail Jahangir, spokesman for the provincial governor.

He said the district governor was unharmed but nine attackers, including their local commander, were killed.

The security forces seized several motorbikes and weapons from the insurgents, he said, adding no Afghan police forces were killed in the gunbattle.

Taliban militants, who lost power in late 2001 in a US-led invasion, have recently intensified their attacks on Afghan security forces and about 70,000 international troops stationed in the country.

More than 4,000 people - mostly insurgents - have been killed in the conflict in Afghanistan so far this year.

In another incident, US-led coalition forces said their troops, supported by Afghan security personnel, arrested an insurgent leader Wednesday in Sayed Khail village in the south-eastern province of Khost.

Hakim Jan, who was accused of killing Afghan security forces and conducting roadside attacks on coalition forces, was arrested without a single shot being fired, the US military said in a statement. (dpa)