Taliban suicide attackers stormed a government office in eastern Afghanistan Thursday, killing three Afghan policemen and wounding three US soldiers.

Archive -- Mosque blast in Afghanistan

Taliban suicide attackers stormed a government office in eastern Afghanistan Thursday, killing three Afghan policemen and wounding three US soldiers, officials said.

The attackers are believed to have been targeting a meeting between the governor of Chamkani district in Paktia province and local elders who were due to attend a government-organised loya jirga or traditional meeting in Kabul next week.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it helped end the attack by destroying a mosque where gunmen had hidden, launching a Hellfire missile and rockets from an Apache helicopter.

Provincial government spokesman Rohullah Samoon said there were four attackers, one of whom detonated a car bomb at the gates of the district center, allowing three others to enter.

"They have all been killed," he told media sources. "Three of our policemen have also been killed and the district police chief has been injured but is in stable condition. The fighting is over now."

Master Sergeant Nick Conner, a spokesman for ISAF in eastern Afghanistan, said three US troops were injured in the initial car bombing but could not give details of their condition.

Archive -- Taliban militants in Afghanistan

The attack, which lasted around two hours, highlights the security challenges facing Afghanistan's loya jirga, which has been called by President Hamid Karzai and is due to take place in Kabul from November 16.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message sent to journalists.

"A large number of suicide attackers attacked and conquered Chamkani district of Paktia province," wrote Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, claiming heavy casualties.

Meanwhile, in southern Afghanistan, two civilians were killed when a car bomb targeting an ISAF military convoy detonated in Lashkar Gah, capital of troubled Helmand province.

Mohammad Ismail, coordinator of Afghan security forces in Helmand, said no foreign troops were wounded in the explosion.

There are around 140,000 international troops in Afghanistan claiming to help pro-government forces fight a drawn-out 10-year Taliban-led insurgency that has cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars.