KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The governor of Afghanistan's most important southern province escaped unscathed from a roadside bomb on Monday, but three civilians were wounded in the attack, his office said in a statement.

The governor of Kandahar province, Asadullah Khalid, was travelling to open several reconstruction projects in the Shah Wali Kot district, north of the city of Kandahar, when his car was hit by a roadside bomb, the statement said.

Taliban insurgents planted hundreds of roadside bombs last year, launched more than 140 suicide attacks and targeted dozens of government officials as part of their campaign to overthrow the pro-Western Afghan government and eject the 50,000 foreign troops from the country.

Last year saw record violence across Afghanistan with more than 6,000 killed, nearly 2,000 of them civilians.

Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban and the main city in the volatile south. (Reporting by Mirwais Afghan; Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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