KABUL, March 26 (Xinhua) -- At least eight civilians were killed and 17 others were injured when a suicide attacker exploded his car in a weekly market in southern Afghan province of Helmand Wednesday afternoon, an official said.

    Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, the provincial police chief, told Xinhua it was around 2:30 p.m.(1000 GMT)when a suicide attacker drove a car laden with explosive material and exploded it in a crowded market in Gereshk district of Helamend province.

    No one has claimed responsibility for the incident yet.

    Earlier, roadside bombing set up by Taliban insurgents in the same district of Helmand province left one Afghan police dead and two others injured.

    Conflicts and Taliban-related violence have left more than 250 people dead so far this year in war-torn Afghanistan, where Taliban militants have vowed to launch the "Spring Assaults" to intensify their guerrilla-style attacks on national army and foreign troops.