At least five people were killed and 60 wounded Friday when a car bomb exploded in a southern Afghan regional capital, officials said, on the eve of the formal start of the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan. Officials gave conflicting accounts of casualties from the blast that occurred in Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province, in a residential area when people were breaking their dawn-to-dusk fast of the holy month of Ramadan. "Five dead and 60 wounded people were brought to the provincial hospital," Dastagir Nazari, spokesman to the health ministry, said. Dedar Lawang, spokesman to the Logar governor, said seven people were killed in the blast, adding the wounded were being taken to Kabul for treatment. The chief of Logar's provincial council, Hasibullah Stanikzai, said the bomb targeted a guesthouse in the city where dozens of people were living -- including university students. Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said the blast caused widespread damage in the area, including to a hospital and residential houses. "The roofs of houses have collapsed and people are trapped under the debris," he told reporters. "The security forces are trying to rescue those trapped." He said the casualties include university students who were in the guesthouse to take exams, and doctors and patients from the hospital that was damaged by the blast. The blast comes a day before the US military formally begins to pull out its remaining troops from the violence-wracked country. US President Joe Biden announced earlier this month that all American troops will leave Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. str-mam-jds/to