Official: Roadside bombing kills 8 civilians in Afghanistan

KABUL – An Afghan official says a roadside bombing has killed at least eight civilians in northern Baghlan province.

Jawed Basharat, provincial police chief’s spokesman, says six other people were wounded in Monday’s attack in the Dand Shabuddin area outside of Puli Khumri, the provincial capital of Baghlan.

Basharat says women and children are among the casualties.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the area of the bombing is under Taliban control.

The Taliban have a strong presence in the province and usually target Afghan security forces in and around Puli Khumri. Scores of civilians are killed in the attacks.

In September, the insurgents attacked Puli Khumri and blocked the city’s main highway to Kabul for more than a week.

The Taliban today control about half of Afghanistan.