KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan officials say a powerful car bomb killed at least eight people and wounded 47 in western Herat province. The death toll in the explosion late Friday that also destroyed 14 houses is expected to rise because several of the injured were critical. One among the dead and 11 of the injured were Afghan Security Forces personnel while the remainder are civilians, including women and children. No one has claimed responsibility. Within hours of the attack, the U.N. Security Council at a press briefing in New York condemned an alarming increase in attacks in Afghanistan targeting civilians even as the Taliban and the Afghan government hold on-again-off-again talks in Qatar. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for many of the targeted killings.
