Police chief in Afghan south survives insurgent truck bomb

KANDAHAR (Reuters) - The chief of police in Afghanistan's Kandahar province has survived an insurgent truck-bomb attack which killed four civilians, a spokeswoman for NATO-led forces and Afghan officials said on Tuesday.

The attack in the southern city of Kandahar, the spiritual heartland of the Taliban, came barely a day after insurgents beheaded 17 party-goers in neighboring Helmand province, highlighting security problems in the region ahead of a 2014 withdrawal of most NATO combat troops.

"The Kandahar police chief was injured by a large explosion believed to be a vehicle-borne IED. He was taken to an ISAF facility for his injuries," the spokeswoman for the 120,000-strong International Security Assistance Force told Reuters.

General Abdul Raziq had been in a convoy late on Monday when the bomb, or improvised explosive device (IED), exploded, killing four civilians and wounding 24, Kandahar provincial government spokesman Jawed Faisal said.

Raziq was slightly wounded on his hand and face, Faisal said, and was taken to hospital briefly.

An insurgent suicide bomber wearing a police uniform killed Raziq's predecessor, Khan Mohammad Mojayed, in April 2011, slipping past guards to enter a heavily guarded police compound in the city.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Robert Birsel)