Bombing targets U.N. vehicle in Afghanistan; one foreigner killed

A United Nations vehicle was targeted in a bombing Sunday in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and at least one foreign citizen was killed, an Afghan official said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said five others, including two Afghan U.N. workers, were wounded in the attack. The vehicle was heavily damaged.

The blast targeted the vehicle on one of the busiest roads in the city, in Police District 9, Rahimi said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and Islamic State are active in the capital and have repeatedly claimed previous attacks.

The Taliban control or otherwise hold sway over about half of Afghanistan, staging near-daily attacks that target Afghan forces and government officials across the country.

In central Daykundi Province, at least eight soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters stormed their checkpoint overnight, provincial Gov. Anwar Rahmati said Sunday. He said four other soldiers were wounded in the hours-long gun battle.

Rahmati said reinforcements were dispatched early Sunday to the area in Kajran district, driving off the insurgents and killing at least 20 of them.

Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the checkpoint attack. He disputed the Taliban casualty figures provided by the governor and said the insurgents had seized weapons and ammunition.