Taliban says bombers target minivan in Afghanistan, seven dead

A bomb attached to a packed minivan exploded in Afghanistan's western Herat province on Saturday, killing at least seven civilians and wounding nine others, Taliban officials said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but the Islamic State has claimed credit for similar attacks on civilians and the country's new Taliban leaders elsewhere in the country since the group seized power on Aug. 15.

Saturday's bombing was the first such attack in Herat. Local Taliban official Naeemulhaq Haqqani said investigations were ongoing.

A Taliban intelligence official in western Herat told the Associated Press that the bomb was attached to the van's fuel tank. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to release the information to the public.


Herat Ambulance chief Ebrahim Mohammadi said the victims - three in critical condition - were transferred to the provincial hospital.