KABUL: Up to six Afghans and 20 others were wounded in a suicide attack outside a bank in southern city of Kandahar, on Saturday.

“The attack took place in the city of Kandahar near the New Kabul Bank branch,” said Javed Faisal, the spokesman for the Kandahar provincial government.

He added that both police and civilians waiting to collect their wages were among the victims.

A statement from the Kandahar media office stated that the initial death toll showed six dead and 20 wounded. According to the statement, most of the victims were civilians.

However, Kandahar police spokesman Ahmad Zia Durrani, gave the toll as five people killed and 22 wounded.

He added that seven of those injured were police officers and the rest were civilians.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Taliban insurgents are often blamed by Aghan officials for similar attacks across the country.

They have been waging war against the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade.

Southern Afghanistan is considered a hotbed of the Taliban rebellion, with a strong Taliban presence in Kandahar province.