Kandahar district chief is killed

A roadside bomb has killed an Afghan district chief and a police official in the southern Kandahar province.

The attack took place when the district chief of Registan, Amir Mohammad, was driving home with police official Assadullah, police said.

Four of their guards have been wounded. Taleban insurgents have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kandahar is a key battleground of the Taleban insurgency where Afghan and foreign troops are fighting the rebels.

The bomb struck a vehicle carrying the officials in Registan district late on Monday, news agency Associated Press quoted police chief Matiullah Khan as saying.

"They are both killed and four of their guards were wounded," he said.

Afghanistan has seen rising levels of violence in recent months.

There are about 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, most of them serving under Nato's command.