AYBAK (SW) – Samangan's deputy governor, Sifatullah Samangani, said the insurgents' attack on the NDS office here ended after six hours of fighting with security forces, with two attackers killed.
According to him, 12 employees of the NDS, including two women, were killed and 63 others, most of them civilians, were injured in the attack.
The deputy governor of Samangan said that the health condition of most of the injured was satisfactory.
The attack took place before noon today in the provincial capital, Aybak.
Samangani said the Taliban had first detonated a bomb-laden truck at the entrance gate of the provincial office of the NDS, and then two assailants entered the building and clashed with security forces.
Abdul Khalil Mossadeq, head of health department in Samangan province, said more than 50 people, mostly civilians, have been taken to hospital for treatment.
A number of locals said they have suffered heavy losses as the blast was so powerful that it shook the entire city.
Meanwhile, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan urged the warring parties must take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm.
"Initial reports indicate Taliban-claimed car bomb attack on NDS in #Samangan #Afghanistan injured dozens of civilians. UNAMA urges all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and protect civilians", it tweeted.
ENDS
