KABUL: A gun and suicide attack on an Afghan governor’s compound killed 19 people and wounded nearly 40 others on Sunday in the latest Taliban assault raising fears about security just outside the capital Kabul.
Abdul Basir Salangi, the governor of Parwan province, told a local television channel while gunbattles were underway that six suicide bombers had stormed the main provincial administration.
"I’m inside," Salangi told Tolo News, referring to the compound that houses his office and other administrators in the provincial capital of Charikar about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Kabul.
Interior ministry spokesman Siddiq Siddiqi told AFP that 14 civilians and five police had been killed with 37 people, mostly civilians, wounded.
Abdul Khalil Farhangi, a doctor at the local Charikar hospital earlier put the toll at 16 and said nearly 30 people had admitted with injuries.
Siddiqi said the attack began after insurgents detonated a suicide car bomb at the entrance of the compound, killing guards and allowing the other attackers to storm the heavily-guarded premises.
The governor and other provincial officials gathered for a security meeting when the attack began at 11:00 am (0630 GMT), police said.
"Five suicide bombers broke into the compound and a gunfight erupted," Parwan provincial police chief Sher Mohammad Maladani told AFP.
"Five blasts took place inside the compound. Three of the blasts took place inside the building, about 15 metres (yards) away from the governor’s office," he added.
At least two US military officials, described as "advisers", were also present but were "absolutely fine," Maladani said.
The police chief said the attack lasted for more than an hour.
The Taliban militia, leading a 10-year insurgency against the Western-backed government and 140,000 US-led foreign troops, claimed responsibility.
Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahed told AFP that the attack was carried out "by our suicide and devout fighters.
Parwan has long thought to be one of the safest regions in Afghanistan. The surrounding farming plains are also home to Bagram, the biggest US military base in Afghanistan.
Sunday’s attack came after the Taliban shot down a US helicopter killing 38 troops in Wardak province, underlining their grip on territory which lies just an hour’s drive southwest of the capital.
In recent years, the rebels have honed the technique of coordinated attacks in which multiple gunmen and suicide bombers fight their way into government buildings and security facilities before setting off their bombs.
US-led NATO combat troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and handover control to Afghan security forces.
