At least 27 people have been killed by two suicide attacks in Helmand province in Afghanistan.
About 45 people are said to have been wounded in the attacks that targeted a group of police in a shopping area in the town of Gereshk, Zahir Azimi, a defence ministry spokesman, said.
Most of the dead were civilians.
The attack was the deadliest in Afghanistan in recent months, and is said to have been aimed specifically at Abdul Qodus, the provincial head of the auxiliary police.
Qudos survived the attack, officials reported.
'Worst violence'
Abdul Manas, the chief of the district said the attacker was on a motorbike.
Manas said: "Twenty-seven bodies have been taken to the hospital and among them 13 are police."
Residents in Gereshk have experienced some of the worst violence from Taliban fighters.
The number of attacks have grown steadily, particularly in the past two years.
More than 100 suicide bombings are said to have occurred this year.