Sydney - An Afghan district governor and his two bodyguards were killed in a gunfight involving Australian soldiers in southern Afghanistan, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) said Friday.

Rozi Khan Barekzai, governor of the Chora district in Uruzgan province, was killed Wednesday in Trin Kot, the provincial capital.

He was a mujahedin commander during the war against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and had also served as provincial police chief after the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

"It is not possible at this time to determine that he was killed by ADF fire," the statement said.

"Initial ADF reporting indicates that the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) patrol was moving on foot towards a subsequent activity when they were fired on from a number of locations by unknown attackers. The SOTG patrol returned fire in self-defence," the statement added.

The statement said a number of groups, including Afghan National Police personnel, were involved in the incident

"The identity of these additional personnel will be determined as part of the investigations that are now underway," it said.

About 1,000 Australian troops are stationed in Uruzgan. The soldiers are part of 53,000-strong force deployed to Afghanistan from 40 countries.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai was saddened by the killing of Barekzai, his office said.

The district governor was killed in a "misunderstanding" between the troops and local forces, a presidential statement said.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said: "My advice is that the International Security Assistance Force and the government of Afghanistan are currently are involved in an investigation of this incident. The facts are unclear at this stage according to my advice." (dpa)