20/03/2014 16:55
Afghan police station attack leaves at least 18 people dead
Taliban fighters have killed at least 10 policemen in an attack on a city in eastern Afghanistan, the BBC reported.
Gun battles started early on Thursday morning in Jalalabad after a "multi-pronged" attack by insurgents.
Police said they shot dead seven attackers, all of them wearing suicide bomb vests.
The attack comes after the Taliban vowed to disrupt the run-up to presidential elections in the country on 5 April.
"Ten policemen, including the district police chief, were killed and 14 police were wounded," deputy interior minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi told AFP.
"One civilian was also killed, and all seven attackers."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message sent to media.
The insurgents are believed to have stormed Jalalabad's key police station, close to government offices and the headquarters of the governor, shortly after a car bomb was detonated.
The gun battles continued for several hours after the bomb blast and Nato sent helicopter gunships to support Afghan security forces.
Interior ministry spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, said one or two attackers had holed up in a small room inside the police station before they were finally killed by security forces.