A suicide car bomber in Afghanistan killed at least four people and wounded 40 in an attack on a police base in the country's southern

A suicide car bomber in Afghanistan killed at least four people and wounded 40 in an attack on a police base in the country's southern Kandahar province, a provincial official said Monday.

Paramedics still searched the rubble of homes destroyed by the blast hours after the attack late Sunday night in the province's Maiwand district, said Mohammad Ashraf Nadery, the provincial director of Kandahar's public health department. He said those wounded included both soldiers and civilians.

Suicide car bomb

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though suspicion immediately fell on the Taliban.

Violence has soared in Afghanistan in recent months, even as the Taliban and government negotiators hold peace talks in Qatar.

Suicide car bomb

The two sides have made little progress and attacks continue despite warnings from the US that continued violence could derail the talks.

Earlier this month, Islamic State militants stormed Kabul University, sparking an hours-long gunbattle that killed 22 people and wounded 22 others at the war-torn country's largest school.