Afghan official: Taliban attacks kill 8 in country's north

An Afghan official says attacks by the Taliban in the country's north have killed eight people four soldiers and four civilians.

Military spokesman Hanif Rezaie says the troops died in Kunduz province when the Taliban attacked a military outpost in the district of Archi on Friday morning. He says six were wounded in the assault.

Rezaie says the civilians were killed on Thursday, when a car bomb targeting an election campaign headquarters in Faryab province exploded prematurely.

He says several Taliban fighters died in both incidents.

Afghanistan is holding parliamentary elections on Oct. 20. The campaign has already been marred by violence.

On Tuesday, a suicide bomber struck the home of an election candidate in the city of Lashkar Gah, in Helmand province, killing the candidate and seven others.