AFGHAN BOMB ATTACK KILLS 19

MAZAR-I-SHARIF: A suicide bomber killed 19 people including women and children on Wednesday when he blew himself up in a northern Afghan market, as militants intensify their annual summer offensive despite nascent peace talks.

The attack in Almar district of Faryab province, bordering Turkmenistan, highlights the heavy toll of such attacks on civilians after 13 years of war.

No group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, which comes just before another round of peace negotiations between the government and Taliban militants are due to start.

The attacker detonated his explosives-laden vest in the main market of the volatile district of Almar, killing at least 19 people, according to Faryab police chief Subhan Quli Ebrahimi and the United Nations.