An Afghan official says a mortar attack in northern Faryab province has killed five people.

Karim Yuresh, the provincial police chief's spokesman, says the attack took place during the weekly bazaar in Khwaja Sabz Push district, which was hit by three mortar shells on Tuesday morning.

He says 45 people, including women and children, were also wounded in the attack.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks but Yuresh blamed the Taliban.

In Kabul, meanwhile, Nasart Rahimi deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, says security forces arrested three suspects following a rocket attack late Monday night on Wazir Akbar Khan, a key central neighborhood in the Afghan capital that houses many diplomatic missions, news agencies and non-governmental groups.

Rahimi says no casualties were reported.