8 civilians killed in Afghan blast

Eight Afghan civilians were killed when a bomb-filled car exploded near a crowded bazaar in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, police said, in an attack claimed by the Taliban.
The blast took place in Gereshk district, in volatile Helmand province -- the country's biggest opium producing region which has seen much of the violence in the years-long Taliban insurgency.
"An explosives-filled car which was abandoned exploded and killed eight people and wounded 17 others. It happened near a weekly bazaar," provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal told AFP.
Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the bombing in a telephone call to AFP.
"We carried out the bombing. It was a car-bomb that was exploded by one of our Mujahed (holy warriors) using a remote-controlled device," he said.
The blast was similar to other attacks carried out by Taliban insurgents in their ongoing campaign against the Kabul government and Afghan security forces.
But Andiwal said there was no "military presence" in the area at the time of the blast.