Ten civilians were killed and many others injured Thursday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan, the police said.

Nearly two dozen people were injured in the blast at 3.30 p.m. in Dehrawad district.

An official said the suicide bomber first tried to attack an army convoy but soldiers foiled that attempt. The attacker then blew himself up in a crowded area, killing 10 people and injuring 13 others, deputy police chief Mohammad Gulab Wardak told Xinhua.

The blast occurred hours after president Hamid Karzai was sworn in as the president of the war-torn country for the second term amid tight security.

Hundreds of Afghan and international guests, including Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, attended the swearing-in ceremony.