Afghan officials say a suicide car bomber has killed seven civilians near the entrance to the Kandahar Airfield, the latest in a series of attacks in southern Afghanistan.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack, saying they were targeting NATO vehicles. NATO said there were no coalition casualties.
Provincial officials say the attacker detonated a vehicle full of explosives near the gate of the airfield, which is used by foreign and Afghan forces and is located on the grounds of the Kandahar International Airport.
Officials say two children were among the seven civilians killed in the suicide bombing, and that women and children were also among the eight people wounded in the attack.
On Wednesday, two bomb attacks in neighboring Helmand province killed at least 16 people.
In the first attack Wednesday, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed 10 civilians and two police officers in the Kajaki district. More than 20 people were wounded in the blast.
Another attack took place hours later in the Nad Ali district. A provincial spokesman said an Afghan intelligence official, two of his bodyguards, and a fourth person were killed by a remote-controlled bomb.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the second attack.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the suicide bombing in the Kajaki district and called on the Taliban to “stop killing innocent people.”
The commander of International Security Assistance Force, U.S. General John Allen said the attacks will “further isolate the Taliban from the process of peace negotiation.”
Separately Thursday, President Karzai ordered a probe into reports that six civilians were killed during a recent NATO night operation in the Sauki district of eastern Kunar province. A woman, four children, and a man were reportedly killed in the coalition raid.