A suicide attack in western Afghanistan has left at least 14 people killed and another 22 wounded, according to local police.

A Toyota 4x4 vehicle with two people inside, detonated a cache of explosives on the road from Herat International Airport to the Guzara district of Herat province according to the Afghan interior ministry.

Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Kabul, said the vehicle drove through a checkpoint on a bridge two kilometers ahead of its target and ignored two orders to stop before the explosives were detonated.

"The explosion was so strong there are causalities among police and civilians", said Nasar Ahmad Popul, the chief of the province's Guzara district, who was inside the building at the time of the attack.

Mohiddin Noori, spokesman for the provincial governor, said six civilians and three policeman were among the nine reported deaths.

"The number of casualties may rise," Noori said of the attack, which came ahead of the traditional summer fighting months.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the blast, saying a police gunshot led to the detonation that claimed so many civilian lives.

The building, home to the offices of the district police chief and district administrative chief, also suffered damages said Popul.

The attack took place as people were gathered outside the building waiting to see government officials about various matters inside.

A reporter for the AFP news agency on the scene said he saw shattered bodies lying among rubble and mangled pieces of metal after the bombing.

The responsibility for nearly all of Herat province has been transferred, or is in the process of being transferred, from NATO troops to Afghan forces.

PHOTO CAPTION

Map of Afghanistan locating Guzara in Herat province where two suicide bombers rammed their vehicle into a local government compound Tuesday, killing at least nine people.

Al-Jazeera