Oh, noze! It's another Cycle of Violence™!The blast injured another 16 civilians in a bus station in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province, a Taliban spiritual stronghold.
"The blast killed eight civilians and injured another 16," the Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The incident in Lashkar Gah occured as 15,000 US, NATO and Afghan soldiers are waging an offensive against Taliban militants in the Marjah and Nad Ali districts.
The Afghan government describes the incident as "brutal" and blaming enemies -- an expression commonly used to refer to the Taliban.
No groups, including the Taliban, have made an immediate claim of responsibility as both side of the war fear civilian deaths may drive away the public support.
Two day earlier, at least 33 Afghan civilian were killed in a NATO air strike in the central Dai Kundi province, a "mistake which undermines the US-led campaign in Afghanistan".
NATO and Afghan forces have been fighting the Taliban for the past ten days in the districts of Marjah and Nad Ali, a hub for Taliban's nacro trade.
A spokesman for Helmand governor said they expect a rise in insurgency in Lashkar Gah as the Taliban are overwhelmed by NATO and Afghan forces in the districts.
"The Taliban may focus on roadside bombings to destabilise Lashkar Gah as they are losing their strongholds in the districts," said Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for Helmand governor.
Quqnoos' Helmand Correspondent, Baryalay Rahimi, says Laskhar Gah, the centre of Afghanistan's most volatile province, has been calm for the past one month.