PUL-I-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, Sept 7, 2010 (AFP) - Taliban rebels ambushed an Afghan district governor in a troubled northern town, killing the official and his driver, police said Tuesday.

Ahmad Seroor, the chief administrator for Nahrin district in Baghalan province, was travelling through Baghlan-i-Markazi when he was attacked, police said.

"Armed men ambushed his car. His vehicle was destroyed and the district chief and his driver were killed on the spot," deputy provincial police chief Sayed Zamanudin said. He blamed the Taliban for the killings.

The Islamic insurgents who are most active in Afghanistan's southern and eastern provinces have expanded into the once peaceful north and west.

Baghlan and the neighboring province of Kunduz have become hotspots in the Taliban insurgency now entering its 10th year.

The provinces are a major transportation hub along a crucial supply line for coalition forces fighting the Taliban, who were toppled from power in a US-led invasion after the September 11, 2001 attacks.