Failed suicide attack targets Afghan governor

A suicide bomber targeted the compound of an Afghan governor in the north of the country on Tuesday, seriously wounding a child after detonating explosives strapped to his body, officials said. An interior ministry spokesman said the attacker attempted to enter the Parwan governor's office but it was not immediately clear why he detonated his explosives at the entrance without proceeding further. "Based on initial reports one child was wounded in the blast," the spokesman, Seddiq Seddiqi, told AFP. In recent months, there has been a spike in Taliban insurgent activities in northern Afghanistan, which until several years ago was largely peaceful. On May 28, the police chief of the north was killed in a suicide attack in Kunduz. Three German soldiers and four others were also killed. The Taliban are traditionally active in southern and eastern parts of the country but attacks are increasing in the north and west as the militia presses a nearly 10-year insurgency against the Western-backed government.