Two Taliban militants hiding handguns in their shoes slipped into a provincial governor's compound in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, setting off a fierce gunbattle that left two security guards and both attackers dead. Also, a roadside bomb killed 10 Afghan security forces in eastern Wardak province, officials said. In the attack on the governor of Kandahar province, the assailants made it through a pair of security checks without their weapons being detected before a guard at the last check - in the reception room for the governor's office - noticed something suspicious and stopped them, said Gov. Tooryalai Wesa. The militants then pulled the guns out of their shoes, shot the guards and took their weapons, Wesa said. That sparked a gunbattle with security forces that lasted about 30 minutes and left both attackers dead, said Parwiz Najib, a spokesman for the governor. One guard was wounded in the fighting. The Taliban routinely target Afghan officials in an attempt to weaken the resolve of a government they say is collaborating with foreign occupiers. Wesa's office said in a statement that Saturday's attack was the ninth to target the governor in the past three years. The assault also serves as a reminder of the insurgents' ability to strike in even some of the most secure areas of the country. Wesa said he was in his office meeting with constituents when he heard shooting out in the reception room. He and his guests escaped out a back door to the press office, where they waited for the fighting to stop. The police defused those bombs, he said. The roadside bomb in Wardak province's Chak district killed 10 members of the Afghan security forces driving in a pickup truck, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The dead were members of the Afghan Local Police, a government-sponsored militia that works alongside the Afghan army and the national police. Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez and Chris Blake contributed to this report from Kabul.