An Afghan policeman keeps watch at the site of a blast near Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan July 19, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

KABUL (Reuters) - A powerful bomb blast outside the gates of Kabul University in the Afghan capital on Friday killed at least eight people and wounded 33, as students and lawyers waited to take an examination, officials said.

Taliban militants are carrying out almost daily attacks, despite reported progress in efforts by the United States to broker an end to Afghanistan’s nearly 18-year war.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s blast. On Thursday Taliban insurgents set off two car bombs outside police headquarters in the southern city of Kandahar, killing at least 12 and wounding more than 80.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was not aware of any Taliban involvement in Friday’s attack.

Health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said there were students among the 33 injured taken to hospital after the blast, which a student at the university campus said occurred while some were waiting to take a law exam.

An eyewitness and an interior ministry official said a vehicle caught fire after a bomb stuck to its underside exploded.

“The blast happened when hundreds of students were entering the campus. We were scheduled to appear for the law exam but the blast shook all of us,” said Karima Wardak, a student at the Kabul University.

A police team defused a second bomb placed near the explosion site, Kabul police spokesman Faramarz Firdaws said.

Also on Friday, a roadside mine killed five people who were riding in a car in central Ghazni province.