At least five cops killed in militant attack on Afghanistan police base
Kabul, Oct 27 (efe-epa).- Three car bombings followed by a gun battle that lasted for about nine hours on an Afghan police base in eastern Khost province left at least five police officers dead and dozens of people wounded on Tuesday, an official said.
Provincial governor spokesperson Talib Mangal told EFE that a group of10 suicide bombers launched the attack on the police complex in the city of Khost around 5.55 am, which ended in the afternoon after security forces killed all the attackers.
Mangal said three of the attackers lost their lives as they detonated three car bombs to make way for the other seven gunmen to storm inside the complex.
“The remaining seven were killed by the security forces during the clearance operation,” Mangal said.
He said the car bombings also killed five police officers.
At least 25 security personnel and nine civilians suffered wounds in the attack. All of them were under treatment in hospitals.
No insurgent group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
Violence has been on the rise in recent weeks in Afghanistan despite the start of peace talks between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban in the Qatari capital of Doha in early September.
The two sides in the intra-Afghan talks have so far failed to reach an agreement on the rules and regulations necessary for the main phase of the negotiations that could bring an end to nearly two decades of conflict in the country.
The talks are a result of a peace deal signed between the United States and the insurgents in the Qatari capital of Doha on Feb.29 that laid the groundwork for the phased withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in return for guarantees that they would not use the war-ravaged country for activities against Washington.
However, in recent weeks, the Taliban have carried out several attacks across the country, resulting in dozens of deaths of security forces members and civilians, including women and children. EFE-EPA
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