Police say gunmen have killed two local government officials in separate attacks in northern Afghanistan.

Deputy Police Chief of Kunduz province Ghulam Mohammad says both attacks happened Tuesday. He says the commander of a police detention center in Dashti Archi district was ambushed by gunmen while driving on a main road through the area in the afternoon. Commander Abdul Salam and his bodyguard were killed.

Mohammad says the commander of the district's government-backed militia force was also killed in a similar ambush about the same time. He says it was not clear if there was a connection between the two attacks.