Blast kills senior Afghan intelligence official

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A suicide attack in Afghanistan killed the deputy director of Afghanistan's intelligence service and 22 others Wednesday, an official said.

The attack killed Abdullah Laghmani of the National Directorate of Security, an Afghan agency that serves a role similar to that of a combined CIA and FBI.

It targeted him and other officials who were visiting a mosque in Afghanistan's eastern Laghman province, said Sayd Ahmad Safi, representative of the provincial governor's office.

The blast killed 23 and wounded another 35, including children, in front of the Laghman Congregational Mosque, Safi said. Watch a report on the attack »

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a statement condemning the bombing.

"We express our condolences to Dr. Laghmani's family, and to the families of all those who lost loved ones in this senseless act of violence," the statement said.

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CNN's Atia Abawi in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.

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