A bomb placed in a thermos bottle detonated remotely at a market in northern Afghanistan killed three civilians today, an Afghan official said.
The attack, which killed two men and a woman, took place in the Faryab province's capital of Maymana, said Ahmad Jawed Dedar, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
The explosion also wounded 12 other civilians, including four women and a child, Dedar said. The thermos was brought and left next to a shop at the market by a person wearing a burqa, the traditional head-to-toe covering of Afghan women, he added, though it was not certain if the person was a woman.
Militants in Afghanistan sometimes disguise themselves in the all-enveloping veil to avoid being noticed before the attack.
"The shopkeeper shouted out to her that she forgot some belongings but she paid no attention and ran away exactly as the explosion occurred," Dedar added.
Also today, Omer Zwak, the spokesman for the provincial governor of southern Helmand province, said four Afghan police officers were killed and one was wounded when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb yesterday evening.
The policemen were on their way back from an operation in Sangin district, said Zwak, adding that the police vehicle was completely destroyed in the blast.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Helmand and Faryab.
Roadside bombings are a major threat to both security forces and civilians in Afghanistan. Such attacks have escalated as the Taliban have intensified their campaign ahead of the US-led foreign forces withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of the year.
