At least nine people have been killed and 60 more injured in a car bomb attack on police headquarters in Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan, Pajhwok news agency stated on Thursday.
A police spokesman, Jamal Naseer Barakzai, earlier reported that a group of Taliban gunmen attacked the police command of Kandahar province after detonating an explosive-laden car close to the building.
"There has been a car bombing close to the police command in Kandahar city, an unknown number of militants have entered a nearby building and have engaged in fighting", Barakzai stated.
Local sources have reported at least two explosions, while the official confirmed one to Sputnik.
According to local media, at least 20 people were admitted to hospital after being injured in the attack.
None of the local militant groups has yet claimed responsibility for the incident.
A group of Taliban gunmen have attacked the police command of the southern Afghan #Kandahar province after detonating an explosive-laden vehicle close to the building, Jamal Naseer Barakzai, the spokesman of the police command, told Sputnik. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/4qpbaKYfsd
— Sputnik Insight (@Sputnik_Insight) July 18, 2019
Last week marked the end of the seventh round of peace talks between the Taliban and the United States. The movement insists on the pullout of foreign troops, stressing they won't start negotiations with the Afghan government until a timeline for foreign troop withdrawal is officially announced.
The country has been torn apart by various militant groups, including Daesh*, while the Taliban controls a big part of Afghanistan and continues to fight against the central government.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia
