Suicide attacker kills at least 12 police in southern Afghanistan
Attacker, who was driving an explosives-packed Humvee, blew himself up at the government and police headquarters in Maruf district, official say. Taliban claimed responsibility of the deadly attack.
Afghan security forces keep watch at the site of an attack and gun fire between insurgents and Afghan forces in Kabul, Afghanistan on September 27, 2017.
At least a dozen Afghan security forces were killed when a suicide attacker driving an explosives-packed Humvee blew himself up in the southern province of Kandahar, police said on Thursday.
Abdul Bari Baryalai, a spokesman for the provincial government, said that the attack took place in Maruf district, bordering Pakistan, in the southern province of Kandahar late on Wednesday.
The Taliban claimed the deadly assault on the government and police headquarters.
"Twelve security forces were killed and four others were wounded," said Kandahar police spokesman Zia Durrani.
More deaths feared
A border police commander in Maruf gave a slightly higher toll, telling AFP news agency that 14 security personnel had been killed and eight wounded in the attack.
"The intensity of the blast caused damage to the building and led to casualties," he said. "The clean-up operation is under way in the area."
The attack, in one of the Taliban's heartlands, underlines the threats faced by Afghan forces, notably police units on the front lines of the battle against Taliban who control or contest about 40 percent of the country.
The incident came on the same day that militants attacked Kabul airport while US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis was visiting the Afghan capital.
The rocket fire prompted a US air strike that killed civilians, officials said.
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