8 civilians killed in Afghanistan bomb blasts

In one incident, five children lost their lives and 10 civilians were wounded after a truck they were travelling touched off a pressure-plate Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Kushki Kuhna district of western Herat province, local government confirmed in a statement.

The incident occurred at midday Wednesday and the wounded were shifted to a hospital in the district in the northeastern part of provincial capital Herat city, the statement said.

"All 15 people aboard the vehicle were affected by the explosion and the district police notified the victims' relatives. The travelers were on the way to attend a wedding ceremony," the statement said, blaming Taliban militants for planting the IED.

In eastern Laghman province, three civilians were killed and 14 civilians and a police officer were wounded after a sticky IED attached to a police vehicle driving along a road detonated in provincial capital Mehtarlam city earlier in the day, local government spokesman, Assadullah Dawlatzayi told Xinhua.

Militants in Afghanistan have been using home-made IEDs to make roadside bombs and landmines to target security forces, but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians.

More than 800 civilians were killed and over 2,330 others wounded in IED explosions in 2019, according to official figures.