A bicycle bomb detonated among a crowd in southern Afghanistan Wednesday, killing 13 civilians and wounding 45 others, including police and children, officials said, DPA reported.
The explosion occurred in Nahri Sarraj, a district north of Lashkarga, the capital city of the southern province of Helmand, Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said.
"Thirteen innocent civilians were killed in the attack that happened in Malgir market of the district," Ahmadi told German Press Agency dpa. He said 45 other people, including a police officer and eight children were injured in the blast.
The Interior Ministry said the bomb was detonated by remote control. The ministry and a regional police official had earlier provided conflicting casualty reports, but Ahmadi said his figures were provided by a team of investigators at the site.
NATO soldiers reported that more than 35 civilians were wounded in the explosion, many of them seriously, the alliance said.
No group immediately took responsibility.
Ahmadi said the explosion happened in a local market, where dozens of farmers had gathered from several villages.
The ministry statement blamed "enemies of peace and stability," a common term used by Afghan officials to describe Taliban militants.
The insurgents are most active in Helmand province, which has been the scene of the largest military offensive this year.
The province is also the largest producer of opium - the raw ingredient of heroin - in the country. Afghanistan supplies more than 90 per cent of the world's opiates.