Suicide bomber kills 10 Afghan civilians, wound 13 others

KABUL, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bomber blew himself up in Uruzgan province in the south of Afghanistan Thursday afternoon killing and wounding nearly two dozen people, police said.

"A man strapped explosive device in his body and attempted to target the convoy of national army in Dehrawad district at 03:30 p.m. local time but troops identified and did not allow him to get access to the troops but he exploded himself in a crowded area killing 10 persons and injuring 13 others," deputy to police chief Mohammad Gulab Wardak told Xinhua.

The attack occurred hours after president Hamid Karzai was sworn in as the president of the war-torn country for the second term amid tight security in a ceremony attended by hundreds of Afghan and international guests including Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.