Afghanistan: Provincial governor escapes assassination attempt but 4 Afghan soldiers killed

Bomb targeting Afghan official kills 4 soldiers

KABUL — A provincial governor escaped an assassination attempt while traveling to inspect a school southwest of Kabul, but four Afghan soldiers in his convoy were killed in the bombing, a spokesman said Saturday.

Halim Fidai, the governor of Wardak province, was on his way to the school after meeting with elders Friday in the Jagatu district when the roadside bomb exploded.

The governor was unharmed, but four Afghan soldiers in a different vehicle were killed and another was wounded, according to the governor’s spokesman Shahidullah Shahid, who also was in the convoy.

Two armed men, including a local Taliban commander, were arrested as they tried to flee the scene, Shahid said.

Afghan officials are frequently targeted by militants seeking to derail public confidence in the U.S.-backed government.