Afghanistan - suicide bomb

Suicide bomber kills 15 in Farah

Article published on the 2009-11-20 Latest update 2009-11-20 12:13 TU

Map of Farah province, Afghanistan

At least 15 people were killed on Friday when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck in the south-western city of Farah. Another 34 were wounded.

The attack comes a day after President Hamid Karzai pledged to take over security from foreign forces during his inauguration address at the start of his second term in office.

The bomber attacked near the home of Rohul Amin Amin, the governor of Farah province, damaging nearby buildings in an area where heavy trucks were being loaded with goods travelling from Farah to Herat.

"The bomber riding on a motorcycle detonated himself at a main square near my working office in my home," Rohul Amin Amin told AFP.

"Fifteen people were killed," he said updating the earlier figures.

About 34 other people, mostly civilians, were wounded in the bombing, the officials said.

More than a dozen of the wounded were in a critical condition meaning the death toll could rise further.

In the eastern province of Khost, a roadside bomb, similar to those used by Taliban insurgents, ripped through a civilian car, killing three non-combatants, local police said.

Four other people, all members of one family, were wounded in the blast, Gul Dad, a senior provincial police official, told AFP.