HERAT, July 2, 2008 (AFP) - Four people were killed Wednesday in a suicide attack targeting the governor of the western Afghan province of Nimroz, who said he escaped unhurt.

Governor Ghulam Dastageer Azad told AFP he was on his way to inspect a road construction project in the provincial capital Zaranj when a suicide attacker jumped over his convoy and detonated explosives strapped to his body.

'Three of my bodyguards and one civilian were martyred, that is the initial information I have,' he said shortly after the incident.

Azad said the attacker first threw a hand grenade on the road and when the his motorcade slowed down the suicide bomber jumped on one of his escort vehicles.

The attack which occurred in a crowded area in Zaranj also wounded three policemen and some civilians, he said.

Azad was returning after a visit to the road project which links Nimroz with the Iranian border.

Western Afghanistan is relatively peaceful compared to the troubled south where Taliban-led attacks are common.