Taliban kill 10 in attack on Afghan spy agency office

people were killed and more than 50 others injured in an attack on a security office in northern Afghanistan yesterday.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which began when a car bomb exploded outside the office of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, in Aybak, the capital of Samangan province.

Four gunmen were killed by security forces, a spokesman for the provincial government said.

Amin Aarween, 35, who works for a non-government organisation in Aybak, said he felt the explosion from his office more than a kilometre away from the NDS building.

“I froze for a few seconds and I could see people around me were panicked, running to find a safe place. It was a scary few minutes,” Mr Aarween said.

Abdul Latif Ibrahimi, Samangan’s governor, said 10 members of the Afghan security forces were killed and 54 people, including civilians, were wounded.

“Unfortunately this is not the first attack and such security issues have become normal to people,” Mr Aarween said.

Clashes between security forces in the northern provinces and Taliban fighters escalated in the past few weeks.

The group’s role in the Aybak attack is likely to hamper progress on peace talks with the US and the Afghan government.