A car bomb near a police station in Afghanistan's western Herat Province has killed at least eight people and injured nearly 50 others.
Herat Governor Abdul Wahid Qatali told RFE/RL that nine members of the security forces were among the casualties, including one who was killed in the March 12 evening blast in Herat city.
"The death toll from a car bomb in the city of Herat increased to eight, and 47 others are wounded," a Qatali spokesman, Jailani Farhad, was later quoted as saying.
He said women and children were also among the injured.
Dozens of homes and shops were also damaged in the blast.
A Taliban spokesman denied that group carried out the attack, but Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry blamed Taliban fighters.
The bombing is the latest example of escalating violence as peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government stall.
The United States is making a diplomatic push to advance talks as President Joe Biden's new administration completes a review of an agreement with the Taliban to remove the final U.S. troops in the war-torn country by May.