A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in the heart of Afghanistan's southwestern town of Farah, killing six people and wounding 36 civilians, the provincial police chief said.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in the heart of Afghanistan's southwestern town of Farah, killing 12 people and wounding dozens more, an official said.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in the heart of Afghanistan's southwestern town of Farah, killing 12 people and wounding dozens more, an official said.

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber in southwestern Afghanistan killed 17 people Friday, and an Afghan lawmaker escaped a separate blast on the outskirts of Kabul but five of his bodyguards were killed, officials said.

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber in southwestern Afghanistan killed 17 people Friday, and an Afghan lawmaker escaped a separate blast on the outskirts of Kabul but five of his bodyguards were killed, officials said.

Bomb attacks on Friday killed 23 people in Afghanistan, a deadly start to President Hamid Karzai's second term that underscored spiralling insecurity nine years into the US-led war.

Bomb attacks on Friday killed 23 people in Afghanistan, a deadly start to President Hamid Karzai's second term that underscored spiralling insecurity nine years into the US-led war.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in a town in southwestern Afghanistan on Friday, killing 12 people and wounding dozens more, local officials said.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in the heart of Afghanistan's southwestern town of Farah, killing six people and wounding 36 civilians, the provincial police chief said.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in the heart of Afghanistan's southwestern town of Farah, killing six people and wounding 36 civilians, the provincial police chief said.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in the heart of Afghanistan's southwestern town of Farah, killing six people and wounding 36 civilians, the provincial police chief said.

Bombers on Friday killed 18 people in Afghanistan, a deadly start to President Hamid Karzai's second term in office that underscored spiralling insecurity nine years into the US-led war.

Bombers on Friday killed 18 people in Afghanistan, a deadly start to President Hamid Karzai's second term in office that underscored spiralling insecurity nine years into the US-led war.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck an Afghan town on Friday, killing 12 people in the deadliest attack since President Hamid Karzai got down to the business of a second term.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck an Afghan town on Friday, killing 12 people in the deadliest attack since President Hamid Karzai got down to the business of a second term.

Afghan Energy Minister Mohammad Ismail Khan survived a car bomb attack in the west of the country Sunday that left at least four civilians dead and 17 wounded, officials said.

US Marines and Afghan soldiers killed 40 Taliban fighters in a joint operation in Afghanistan's west on Monday, the Afghan army said.

US Marines and Afghan soliders killed 40 Taliban fighters in a joint operation in Afghanistan's west on Monday, the Afghan army said.

More than 20 Taliban were killed in a massive operation in western Afghanistan, the interior ministry said Wednesday, as the United States considers sending more troops to battle a worsening insurgency.

Afghan and international forces have killed 22 Taliban militants in a fierce battle in western Afghanistan, the Afghan interior ministry said Wednesday.