Afghan official: Motorcycle bomb rips through crowded bazaar in south, killing at least 3

KABUL – An Afghan official says a bomb hidden in a parked motorcycle has ripped through a crowded bazaar in a remote region of the southern Helmand province, killing at least three people and wounding seven.

Omer Zawak, the spokesman for the provincial governor, says the explosion occurred early Tuesday at the market in the village of Safar.

Safar is located 70 kilometers (42 miles) from the district center of Garamser in the volatile province, where insurgents routinely stage deadly attacks.

A police spokesman, Shah Mahmood Hashna, says four children were among the wounded and two of them are in critical condition.

Zawak says he fears the toll could rise because Tuesday is the day residents of the area hold their weekly bazaar.