Afghanistan ? Gunmen in a dangerous part of southern Afghanistan assassinated an Afghan lawmaker, while a roadside bomb that militants were planting detonated prematurely, killing 10 Taliban, officials said Saturday.

The gunmen killed parliament member and former military commander Habibullah Jan after he visited an Afghan army compound in the Zhari district of Kandahar late Friday, said Kandahar provincial council member Bismillih Afghanmul.

Zhari is a volatile part of Kandahar contested heavily by militants and Canadian forces over the last two years.

In neighboring Helmand province, militants planting a roadside bomb detonated the device prematurely, killing 10 Taliban, said police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal.

The fact one bomb killed so many men appears to reflect the increased size of explosives Taliban fighters have been using in recent months.