A car bomb detonated in western Herat province on Saturday evening, killing at least seven people, sources said.

Herat police headquarters said in a statement that a vehicle carrying explosives detonated in the Haji Abbas area in PD12 of Herat city at 6:50 this evening.

Police said an investigation had been started into the incident.

Herat Intelligence officials said a magnetic IED was attached to a vehicle which resulted in the explosion.

The security officials did not provide details about the casualties.

Arif Jalali, Head of Herat Hospital, stated that seven dead bodies, including four women and three men, and nine wounded people - including five women and four men - have been taken to the hospital.

No individual or group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban officials in the past have blamed the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group for similar attacks on civilians.

Daesh has a foothold in eastern and northern Afghanistan, particularly in Nangarhar, which is regarded as its base in the war-torn country. It has claimed responsibility for several attacks across Afghanistan recently.

The Hazara community, the poorest of the country’s ethnic groups, accounts for about 22 percent of Afghanistan’s population. Its members have been targeted in several large-scale kidnappings and killings across Afghanistan in the past by Daesh.

Security in Afghanistan has vastly improved since the Taliban’s takeover of the country. However, several attacks are reported each week throughout the country, including some claimed by Daesh.

The Taliban, who had previously ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, took power again on August 15 as the US was in the middle of a chaotic troop withdrawal. The group announced the formation of a caretaker government on September 7. No country has yet recognized their rule.