A suspected bomb attacker exploded and killed himself Thursday afternoon in Afghan northern province of Balkh province, a local official said.

"This afternoon in Babayatgar area, a person with bomb on his body exploded himself before arriving at the western gate of Mazar- e-Sharif city. Fortunately there is no other casualty except the suspected attacker," Shir Durani, the spokesperson of the provincial police department told Xinhua.

Investigation is still going on, according to the spokesperson, and the nationality of the person is still unconfirmed.

Mazar-e-Sharif is a comparatively peaceful place in Afghanistan where Taliban attacks seldom happen.

Taliban loyalists who vowed to destabilize the war-torn country and oust Afghanistan's government have recruited suicide bombers, Taliban sources said.

According to their frontline commanders, some 600 have registered their names to conduct suicide attacks in the country.

"We have recruited 600 suicide bombers to target foreign and government troops and we also fixed 2,000 U.S. dollars bounty for the head of any foreign soldier, and any one was able to kill a foreign soldier will receive the prize," Taliban's commander Mullah Razayar Nawrozi said in the southern Helmand province last week.

Source: Xinhua