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Suicide Car Bomb Hits Afghan Intelligence Agency in Taliban Attack

The headquarters of the Afghan intelligence agency came under Taliban attack Saturday morning killing at least three civilians and injuring many more.
Afghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday.
Afghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday.Uncredited / AP

The provincial headquarters of the Afghan intelligence agency came under Taliban attack Saturday morning killing at least three civilians and injuring many more. The complex in the eastern city of Jalalabad was first hit from the outside by a massive suicide car bomb explosion, authorities said. It was swiftly followed by a number of armed militants storming the building, a police official told NBC News.

The militants set up position in a nearby private building as they staged their attack. Heavy gunfire raged for at least six hours before the Afghan security forces gained control. At least three militants were killed as well as two security guards and three civilians, police said. Five more security guards and at least 21 civilians were injured, according to authorities. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter and said they had killed scores of security forces. In a separate incident in the western Farah province, Taliban militants shot dead 11 civilians at close range and injured five others as the group traveled in a minibus to the Iranian border, the Farah governor’s spokesman Jawad Afghan told NBC News.

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- Fazul Rahim