Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A top coalition general wounded in a suicide attack Saturday in northern Afghanistan -- one that left seven dead and eight others hurt -- said weeks earlier that he'd charged international troops to "show Afghans ... respect," in part to contrast with brazen actions by the likes of the Taliban. The attack in Taloqan occurred at a high-level meeting of Afghan and coalition officials in a governor's office, a provincial spokesman said. A Taliban spokesman said that the group, whose fight to resume control in Afghanistan has picked up in recent months, was responsible. Maj. Gen. Markus Kneip, a veteran German office and the regional head of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force across nine provinces of northern Afghanistan, is in stable condition after suffering non-life threatening injuries, a German general said. The provinces border Turkmenistan east to China.
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NEW: High-ranking coalition officer had urged troops to "show Afghans ... respect"
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NEW: Maj. Gen. Kneip is head of more than 12,000 coalition troops in northern Afghanistan
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He was wounded with 8 others, while 7 -- Afghan officials and German troops -- died
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A provincial governor is also wounded in the attack, which occurred in his building
That region -- on the opposite end from where Saturday's attack occurred -- has been the site of a spate of recent violence, after @placeholder forces unleashed multiple attacks earlier this month in their so-called spring offensive.