4 civilians dead, police chief hurt in Afghan bombing

Four civilians were killed Tuesday in a truck bombing in southern Afghanistan that targeted a provincial police chief, an official said. police chief, Abdul Razeq, was injured along with 20 civilians when a suicide attacker detonated an explosives-filled truck near Razeq’s car in Kandahar, capital of Kandahar province, provincial spokesman Javed Faisal said. The blast took place in a residential area and blew out the windows of houses, the spokesman said. The casualties, who included women and children, were injured inside their houses, Faisal said, adding that the police chief was taken to hospital. The Taliban movement confirmed the attack but said the bombing was not a suicide attack. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed the explosion injured Razeq, five other police officers and five civilians. He denied that civilians had been killed and said the bombing did not take place in a residential area.