A powerful car bomb exploded near a police station in the western province of Herat, Afghanistan, killing seven people and injuring more than 50. According to the local governor, Sayed Abdul Wahid Qatali, there are several women and children among the victims; damage also to homes and shops.
Rescuers worked to get people trapped in the rubble out. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but local officials pointed the finger at the Taliban. A new wave of violence has hit Afghanistan in recent months, targeting not just security forces but civil society figures such as journalists, activists and politicians, including several women.
Negotiations in Doha between the Kabul government and the Taliban are languishing and the militant group is trying to gain ground on the ground in view of the withdrawal of the last 2,500 US troops, scheduled for May. However, the Washington Post, Joe Biden’s administration is thinking of postponing the disengagement from Afghanistan, to give the parties more time to reach a peace agreement.