8 killed by yet another Afghanistan car bomb
Residents inspect the site after a car bomb blast in Herat province, Afghanistan on Saturday.
A powerful car bomb in western Afghanistan killed at least eight people and wounded dozens more, authorities said on Saturday, as the United Nations condemned attacks on civilians in the country.
The blast targeted a police headquarters in the city of Herat around 10pm on Friday, damaging dozens of houses and shops, said Jailani Farhad, the spokesperson for the Herat provincial governor.
“The death toll from a car bomb in the city of Herat increased to eight, and 47 others are wounded,” he said, adding that women, children and security personnel were among the dead.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the blast in Herat had no links to their group.
However, the group’s insurgents are active in the western province and have carried out recent attacks against Afghan government forces.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani blamed the Taliban.
He said in a statement the group “continued their illegitimate war and violence against our people” and “showed once again they have no intention for peaceful settlement of the current crises.”
Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent months — including a wave of assassinations of journalists, activists and civil servants, despite the launch of peace talks between the warring Afghan government and Taliban.
On Friday, the UN Security Council condemned “in the strongest terms the alarming number of attacks deliberately targeting civilians in Afghanistan.”
