At least 22 people were wounded in a bomb attack in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Afghanistan's northern Balkh province on Tuesday, a provincial health official confirmed.

"Twenty-two people were admitted to the Balkh Regional Hospital's emergency department following an explosion in Mazar-i-Sharif Tuesday morning," Shafequllah Shafeq from the hospital told Xinhua.

The incident triggered panic among the patients but none of the wounded suffered life-threatening wounds, the official noted.

In the meantime, Adil Shah Adil, the provincial police spokesman, told Xinhua that the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to a bicycle parked at a sidewalk in Alokozai Square of the city at around 9:00 a.m. local time.

One Afghan National Police (ANP) officer and five traffic police personnel were among the affected people, Adil added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Xinhua