Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian says that the attacker was trying to enter the centre when he was stopped by security guards.

The Taliban denied involvement in the attack, which comes just ahead of long-awaited peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar's capital Doha.

The Taliban immediately took responsibility for the attack. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said it occurred in the southern Kandahar province.

Villagers from the surrounding Haskamena district said that there were more than one hundred worshippers at the time of the bombing in the mosque.

Ghani was present at the venue but was unharmed, according to his campaign chief.

The attacks came a day after a U.S. envoy and the Taliban reported progress in their talks on negotiating an end to the nearly 18-year war.

The Taliban claimed the attack, which came as the insurgents were holding their latest round of talks with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in the Gulf state of Qatar, where they have a political office.

Afghan officials say Taliban insurgents have killed eight people in a bomb attack targeting election officials in southern Kandahar province.

The first bomb was attached to bus carrying university students, and was followed 20 minutes later by two roadside bombs in the same area.

Three other U.S. service members were also wounded in the attack.