At least 15 people have been killed and dozens injured in a suicide attack in southwest Afghanistan.

A motorcyclist blew himself up in a busy square in the town of Farah near the Iranian border. The number of attacks in the border region has increased in the past year. Taliban insurgents are shifting their area of operations further and further west, away from their traditional strongholds in the south and east of the country.

The attack in Farah comes just one day after the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai who was elected for a second term. In his speech, he said Afghanistan would be able to meet its security needs in five years, allowing a reduction of the number of foreign troops in his country.

Photo: An Italian Air Force AB-212 helicopter releases flares prior to landing in Farah province during an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, Oct. 6, 2008. (Flickr Creative Commons/isafmedia)