Afghanistan Energy Minister Mohammad Ismail Khan survived a car bomb attack in the west of the country on Sunday that left at least four civilians dead and 17 wounded, police said.

The attack occurred in the town of Herat when a car bomb exploded in the path of the minister's convoy, local police spokesman Abdul Raouf Ahmadi said.

"Four people were killed, including a woman and a child. And 17 other people were wounded," he said. The local governor's office confirmed the toll.