KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A bomb ripped through the house of a government chief in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, officials said Tuesday, in the latest in a wave of security incidents to blight the former Taleban stronghold.

The bomb detonated on Monday at around 8:15 P.M.

(1545 GMT)in front of the residence of Dawood Barak, the Director of Education for Kandahar Province, according to provincial Deputy Governor Khan Mohammad.

Mohammad said Barak survived the blast, but it was not clear if he suffered any injuries, AFP reported.

Medics in Kandahar's main hospital said that just two people were treated for minor wounds before being discharged, but Mohammad said the damage could have been much worse.

"The explosion was caused by a landmine or bomb placed in a ditch in front of the building. The area is normally busy with people, but because it was night there was hardly anyone around and the casualties were light," he said.

He said the presence of bodyguards had prevented the attackers from getting any closer to Barak, a close friend of the powerful provincial Governor Gul Agha.

Witnesses said the explosion tore a large hole into the building in the Toop Khana area of the city. The Police immediately cordoned off the area, while ambulances were rushed to the scene.

The site of the blast is 100 meters (112 yards) from the city's main police station and 200 meters from the military headquarters.

Mohammad said the bomb was probably the work of anti-government extremists who have been blamed for a string of security incidents in the area over the past month.

Kandahar was once the powerbase of the hardline Taleban regime, whose supporters allied with the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden are continuing to resist the internationally-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

Taleban and Al-Qaeda, working in league with the radical Hezb-i-Islami Party of U.S.-dubbed "foreign terrorist" Gulbuddin Hekmatyar were said to be behind an explosion near Kandahar that killed nine bus-passengers last month.

"Hekmatyar and the Taleban are responsible for this explosion," Mohammad told AFP after the lastest blast, adding that police and military had begun an investigation into the incident.

The anti-government groups are also said to be linked to fresh outbreaks of fighting with U.S.-led coalition troops in the south of Kandahar and neighboring Helmand Province.

Coalition troops are continuing operations in Helmand after heavy bombing raids by U.S. and Danish warlplanes left an undisclosed number of opposition fighters dead.

Heightened danger levels in Kandahar last week prompted Mercy Corps, a leading U.S. aid agency, to suspend vital operations in the area, saying its foreign staff were under threat.

The move followed a series of attacks apparently targeting foreign agencies in and around the city.

In January, an explosion caused damage at a compound belonging to French Organization Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger - ACF) while this month a grenade was found outside the premises of German Agency GTZ.

Despite the attacks and Mercy Corps' withdrawal, ACF and other foreign non-governmental organizations have pledged to remain in the city.