Maymana is the capital city of Faryab Province in northwestern Afghanistan, near the border with Turkmenistan. It is approximately 400Â km (250Â mi) northwest of the country's capital Kabul, and is located on the Maymana River, which is a tributary of the Murghab River. The population of Maymana was 149,040 in 2015, making it one of the largest cities of northwestern Afghanistan.
On 18 March 2014, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near the entrance to a busy market in Maymana, killing 15 people including women and children and injuring 27 others. The attack came ahead of the presidential elections on 5 April.