Afghan provincial governor: Suicide bomber kills 23, wounds 31

(CNN) - A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a mosque in southwestern Afghanistan Thursday evening, killing 23 people and wounding 31, the provincial governor said.

The attack took place in Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz province, as people were gathering for the evening prayer, Ghulom Dastagir Azad said.

The district police chief and the commander of the border police of the province were killed in the blast, he said, and children were among the wounded. Whoever did this is "an enemy of Afghanistan" and "an enemy of Islam," he said.

Zaranj is along Afghanistan's border with Iran.

–From Journalist Farhad Piekar