HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated his explosives in a crowded area in southwest Afghanistan on Friday, killing 13 people, including three police officials, a provincial police chief said.
Farah Province Police Chief Faqir Mohammad Askar said the target of the attack was a senior police official, who was among those killed along with two of his bodyguards in the attack in Farah City, capital of the province.
Dozens of other people were wounded, including five listed as being in a serious condition.
Farah, a mainly desert province along the border with Iran, is one of the areas that has seen a rise in insurgent attacks this year as Taliban militants have spread to the west and north from their traditional bases in the south and east.
(Reporting by Sharaffuddin Sharafyar; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Alex Richardson)
