The file photo shows members of Afghan security forces stand guard at the site of the attack outside the provincial police headquarters in Kandahar, capital of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, July 18, 2019. At least 12 people were killed and over 90 others injured in the attack. (Xinhua/Sanaullah Seiam)

A Taliban suicide bombing of a hospital in southern Afghanistan killed 39 people, almost doubling the previous death toll of 20, a provincial governor spokesman said on Friday.

The number of wounded in Thursday's attack in Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, also rose to 140, said Gul Islam Syaal. "The hospital is completely destroyed," he said.