A suicide attacker Thursday evening blew himself up near a mosque in southwest Afghan province of Nimruz, killing at least 17 civilians and injuring 35 others, provincial governor said.

"It was around 8 P.M. local time (1530 GMT) when a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a mosque in Zaranj, capital of Nimruz province, leaving 17 persons possibly all of them civilians dead and injuring 35 others," Ghulam Dastgir Azad told Xinhua via telephone.

Azad said two police officials were also among the killed and blamed the attack on the enemies of peace, a term used against Taliban.

Meanwhile, Taliban have yet to make comment.

The Taliban insurgents who staged a violent come back four years ago have carried out several suicide attacks to destabilize security in the post-Taliban central Asian state.

Conflicts and Taliban-related violence have left over 400 people dead so far this year in war-torn Afghanistan, where Taliban militants recently have vowed to launch the "Spring offensive" to intensify their guerrilla-style attacks on national army and foreign troops.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2008)