HERAT, Afghanistan, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Five people, including a police officer, were killed and six others injured Tuesday in a suicide bombing following a meeting of local elders in western Afghan province of Herat, the police said.
"A meeting of local elders and members of Afghan Local Police ( ALP) was ended in Kushki Kuhna district, but a suicide bomber blew his explosive vest up at the middle of the crowd following the gathering, leaving the casualties," deputy provincial police chief, Abdul Hamid Hamidi, told Xinhua.
The killed included a commander ALP named Arbab Hakim and four civilians in the attack which took place at around 1:30 p.m. local time in the province 640 km west of capital Kabul.
The NATO and U.S.-funded ALP or community police was established in August 2010 to protect villages and districts around the country where Afghan army and police have limited presence.
No local elder was killed in the blast and all injured were civilians, he said.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Violence has been on the rise since Taliban insurgents launched an annual spring offensive on May 3.
The insurgent group has warned the civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers regarded as the legitimate targets by militants besides warning people against supporting government and foreign troops.
This is the second suicide attack in insurgency-hit country since Monday morning.
A total of eight policemen and seven civilians were killed and 25 other civilians were wounded when a suicide bomber hit a demonstration in northern Kunduz province on Monday afternoon.
Up to 1,145 Afghan civilians have been killed in conflicts in the first six months of this year.
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