1 killed, 5 injured in blast in Herat city, W Afghanistan

A women was killed and five other civilians were injured on Friday when a blast rocked Herat, the capital city of Herat province, 640 km west of Kabul, police said. "A quantity of explosive materials were placed in a hand cart which left by a suspect near the entrance gate of provincial police department and was detonated by a remote-control device at around 11:00 a.m. local time Friday," Ghulam Faruq Kohistani, head of criminal investigation department of Herat police told Xinhua. The injured were transported to nearby hospital by police, the official said, adding no policeman was injured in the attack. Security personnel have cordoned off the area in precautionary measures. This is the second attack against security forces in the country on Friday morning. Earlier Friday, an army officer and three of his family members, all women, were injured when a roadside bomb targeted an army vehicle in country's northern Baghlan province. No group claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban insurgents have been blamed for such incidents in the past. The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group announced to launch spring offensive from May 1 against Afghan and NATO-led troops stationed in Afghanistan. The Taliban outfit has also warned the civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers as the militants would attack the mentioned targets.