Suicide Attack Kills at Least 20 Civilians in Afghanistan KANDAHAR - A suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated explosives near a large military installation in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people, according to witnesses and an Afghan government official. Initial reports said all the victims were Afghan civilians, including shopkeepers who had opened small businesses for workers at the nearby Kandahar Airfield. Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar Province, said 22 people were injured in the attack, some seriously. A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, claimed responsibility for the bombing and said two vehicles were used: a trailer packed with explosives that was attached to a motorcycle and was detonated remotely and a suicide bomber on a motorcycle. Kandahar police confirmed only the detonation by the suicide bomber on the motorcycle. Wednesday's bombing is the latest in a string of recent suicide attacks across Afghanistan. In late May, a suicide bomber attacked a group of American soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in southern Afghanistan. Also in late May, a suicide bomber attacked a police post in the Trezi district of Khost Province, detonating explosives that killed 10 people - three policemen and seven civilians, including six children. The last suicide attack in Kandahar itself was in February when a bomb exploded in a police parking lot, killing at least five police officers and a child, while injuring 19 bystanders. Kandahar is the de facto capital of southern Afghanistan and formerly the heartland of the Taliban. Until last summer, Kandahar was a dangerous city that saw repeated spates of violence both in the city and in surrounding districts. However, with an intensive NATO surge there as well as increased operations by Afghan forces and the appointment of a new police chief, it began to see fewer attacks, although when they occurred, they have often been spectacular ones. Taimoor Shah reported from Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Alissa J. Rubin from Kabul.