At least 12 people were killed and 32 others were injured in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan's northern province of Faryab on Wednesday, police said.
The attack took place in the morning at a market in Almar district, Xinhua reported quoting provincial police spokesman Sayyed Massoud Yaqobi.
"The attacker detonated an explosives-laden motorcycle when a security forces convoy was passing by the area," he said.
A majority of the victims were civilians. The injured were taken to the district hospital.
The attacker also died on the spot, Yaqobi said adding that "the number of casualties is expected to rise further as several of the injured are in critical condition".
"The attack could be retaliation by militants to the latest military operations in Almar, during which several militants were killed and injured," he said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.
The province is 425 km northwest of Afghan capital Kabul, and has been the scene of heavy clashes between the Taliban militants and security forces over the past couple of weeks.
The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since mid-April when the militant group launched its so-called annual spring offensive in different parts of militancy-plagued Afghanistan. The violence has claimed hundreds of lives including militants, security personnel and civilians.
