At least 8 dead, 40 wounded, as roadside bomb hits Afghan bus

Afghan security forces stand guard at the site of an attack in Jalalabad on July 28, 2018. (File Photo: AFP)

• At least eight people and wounding around 40, mostly women and children, officials said
• “It was a bomb planted by the Taliban to hit security forces but unfortunately it got a passenger bus,” Farah provincial police said

HERAT, Afghanistan: A roadside bomb hit a Kabul-bound passenger bus in western Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least eight people and wounding around 40, mostly women and children, officials said.

“It was a bomb planted by the Taliban to hit security forces but unfortunately it got a passenger bus,” Farah provincial police spokesman Muhibullah Muhib told AFP.

The explosion happened as the bus travelled through Bala Baluk district of Farah at 4:30 am (0000 GMT), provincial governor spokesman Naser Mehri told AFP.

Photos posted on social media purportedly of the bus showed the vehicle's blackened shell and dozens of Afghan men standing at the scene.