KABUL, Afghanistan

A bus bomb killed at least eight people and injured more than 40 others in Afghanistan's western Herat province bordering Iran. 

The Afghan Interior Ministry said explosives hidden in a passenger bus caused the blast late Friday inside Herat, the provincial capital with the same name, at around 9 p.m. (1630GMT). He said a probe into the terror attack has been launched.

Authorities told Anadolu Agency most of the victims were civilians, including women. The head of the public hospital, Mohammed Rafeeq, said 48 people were wounded.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The attack occurred as the United Nations Security Council called for an immediate end to targeted assassinations in the war-ravaged country.

The Security Council reiterated that all parties to the Afghan conflict must respect obligations under international humanitarian law in all circumstances, including those related to the protection of civilians.

It said in a statement that sustainable peace can be achieved only through a comprehensive and inclusive Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process that aims at a permanent and comprehensive cease-fire, as well as an inclusive political settlement to end the conflict in Afghanistan.

Judiciary officials, human rights advocates, journalists and health and humanitarian aid workers have been killed in targeted attacks across the country.

Figures by the UN's Assistance Mission in Afghanistan suggest 3,035 civilians were killed and 5,785 injured in 2020, with a significant rise in targeted assassinations since talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban began in September.