Afghan officials say a Taliban truck bomb targeting senior provincial officials killed at least seven civilians and wounded around 40 in the southern Helmand Province.
Deputy Provincial Governor Mohammad Jan Rasolyar said the truck bomb exploded in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, near a compound that houses the governor, the head of the provincial council, and the deputy provincial police chief.
A senior police officer who declined to be named confirmed the attack and casualties.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack through their official Twitter account.
It was the second major attack in the Lashkar Gah area this month after seven people were killed and more than 20 wounded in a suicide attack on March 10.
Afghan security forces last month launched an operation to clear the province of Taliban fighters.
The government said March 15 that Afghan forces killed 10 insurgents in Helmand who had claimed to be fighting with the Islamic State (IS), including one militant who officials said was the de-facto leader of the IS group in the province.