Afghan President Ashraf Ghani held the Taliban responsible for the attack in the city of Herat, in western Afghanistan, which killed 8 people and wounded more than 50.

A statement issued by the Afghan presidency said, "The movement's continuing violent behavior confirms that it does not want a peaceful solution in the country."

He added that the Herat attack confirms that the Taliban is missing the current opportunity for peace.

Eight people were killed and more than 50 wounded, the vast majority of them women and children, in a car bomb explosion Friday evening near a police station in Herat Province, western Afghanistan, officials said Saturday.

A spokesman for the governor of the state in which the bombing took place, Gilani Farhad, said that the death toll from the attack amounted to 8 dead and 47 injured, noting that "among the dead were a member of the security forces and 7 civilians, two men, two women and 3 children.

Most of the victims of the bombing of Herat yesterday, Friday, are women and children (European News Agency)

He explained that among the wounded, at least 20 women and 8 children, in addition to 8 members of the Afghan forces.

He also stated that the attack caused damage to dozens of homes and shops, while the spokesman for the state hospital, Rafi` Sharzai, confirmed that toll.

For his part, Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Erian said that "54 wounded, including 7 policemen."

The Afghan government controls Herat, which is one of the largest Afghan cities, but the surrounding countryside is witnessing battles between Afghan forces and the Taliban.

As of Saturday noon, no party had claimed responsibility for this attack.

 The Taliban denies responsibility

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said - in a statement to Agence France Presse - that "(our fighters) have nothing to do with the bombing of Herat."

As part of the peace process that began last year, the Taliban pledged not to carry out major attacks in cities.

The Herat bombing comes less than a week before negotiations are taking place in Moscow with the participation of the Afghan authorities and the Taliban (Reuters)

However, for several months, major cities have witnessed a wave of assassinations targeting journalists, judges, doctors, political and religious figures and human rights defenders, and Kabul and Washington blamed the Taliban for those assassinations.

International condemnation

On Friday, the UN Security Council condemned "in the strongest terms the alarming number of attacks deliberately targeting civilians in Afghanistan."

Council members urged "the negotiating parties to take confidence-building measures, including reducing violence, and to continue engaging in good faith" in the peace process.

Despite peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban - which began last September in Doha - violence has continued to escalate.

And Washington recently presented a new peace proposal to the Kabul authorities and the Taliban, providing for the formation of a "new inclusive government," according to a letter from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken revealed by Afghan media.

The Herat attack took place less than a week before negotiations were taking place in Moscow with the participation of the Afghan authorities and the Taliban, and in the presence of a number of international delegations.