The governor of an Afghan province narrowly escaped with his life Saturday when a roadside bomb exploded just outside his home, claiming the life of a government employee.

It was the third attack against a provincial leader in the past five weeks.

Police told The Associated Press that the governor of Laghman province in eastern Afghanistan was not injured in the attack.

The explosive consisted of a bomb hidden in a plastic bag in a ditch near the governor's compound, Khalil Rahmani, a deputy provincial police chief told AP.

About 12 suspects have been rounded up and arrested, he said.

Provincial leaders have been the target of several recent attacks. The governor of Paktia province was killed in early September, and 18 people were killed last month when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the compound of the governor of Helmand province.

The attack missed the governor.

Scattered violence erupted across Afghanistan Friday. Late in the day, Taliban militants attacked a police patrol in Zabul province. The attack sparked a gunbattle that left two police and three militants dead.

Also on Friday, a suicide bomber drove his bomb-laden van into a NATO military patrol in Kandahar city. Shrapnel from the bomb peppered nearby civilians and storeowners.

One NATO soldier and eight Afghan civilians were killed. Another NATO soldier was wounded, and 12 shops were damaged.

Roadside and suicide bombs are increasingly becoming the tool of choice for insurgents attacking Afghan and foreign soldiers in Afghanistan. NATO says the number of clashes with insurgents have decreased in recent weeks, however.