Suicide Bomber Kills 13 In Afghanistan

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle has killed at least 13 people, including a policeman, in south-west Afghanistan. The attack in a crowded market in Farah city, capital of Farah province, also wounded 36 people, police said. Farah, a mainly desert province on the Iran border, has seen a rise in insurgent attacks this year as Taliban have become active in new areas. The attack comes a day after President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for a second term as the country's elected leader. The bomber struck in an area where heavy trucks were being loaded with goods to be taken to the province of Herat, police said. "A suicide bomber with a motorcycle carried out a suicide attack in the centre of Farah town in the area of Ada Herat," news agency AFP quoted Farah police chief Faqir Ahmad Askar as saying. Several dozen people, mostly civilians, were wounded in the attack, officials said. More than a dozen were critically injured so "the death toll may rise", provincial governor Rohul Amin told the agency. "The bomber riding on a motorcycle detonated himself at a main square near my working office in my home," the governor said. The blast damaged some nearby buildings, he added. Farah has recently seen increased militant activity as Taliban expand their area of operation from the south and east to new areas in north and west. The attack comes a day after President Karzai took over for a second term promising to work towards building a secure and stable Afghanistan.