At least 22 people, including an Afghan parliament member and a head of provincial intelligence agency, were killed and 60 others were injured in a suicide bombing in the northern Afghan province of Samangan on Saturday morning, an official said.

Parliamentarian Ahamd Khan Samangani was killed in the attack which took place at around 8 a.m. local time (0330 GMT) in Qasri-e- Almsas wedding hall in the provincial capital of Aibak city, police spokesman in northern region Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai told Xinhua.

Some provincial officials including the provincial intelligence head were among the dead when a costly wedding party on the upswing for Samagani's son came under the massive attack, a province official said.

Security personnel have cordoned off the area in precautionary measures, while ambulances and civilian cars evacuated the victims to the city's hospitals, the province spokesman told Xinhua.

Police spokesman Ahmadzai said police has started an investigation and details will be released afterwards.

No details about the suicide attacker were available at the moment and no group claimed responsibility for the incident.

The blast damaged the building and also smashed the windowpanes of several buildings around the scene.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group launched an annual spring offensive dubbed "Al-Farooq" from May 3 against Afghan and NATO-led troops stationed in the country.

The insurgent group warned that they would attack members of parliament and high peace council. They also warned people against supporting the government and foreign troops.

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