GARDEZ, Afghanistan, June 18 (Reuters) - Dozens of people were killed or wounded when as many as five suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said.

The attack, claimed by the Taliban, began around 6:30 a.m. (0200 GMT) when one bomber detonated a car packed with explosives at the gate of the police headquarters in Gardez city, capital of Paktia province, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Four more attackers stormed the gate after the blast, with at least two quickly killed by police. The others held out against Afghan special forces that had responded to the attack, he said.

Danish put the toll at two police killed and five wounded.

However, doctors at the city hospital said they had received the bodies of at least five police, as well as at least 30 wounded people, including 20 civilians.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reporting more than 100 police were killed and wounded. The Islamist group often exaggerates casualty numbers in attacks against government targets and security forces. (Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Paul Tait) </s> Gardez: Dozens of people were killed or wounded when as many as five suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said.

The attack, claimed by the Taliban, began around 6:30am (0200 GMT) when one bomber detonated a car packed with explosives at the gate of the police headquarters in Gardez city, capital of Paktia province, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the interior ministry.

Four more attackers stormed the gate after the blast, with at least two quickly killed by police. The others held out against Afghan special forces that had responded to the attack, he said.

Danish put the toll at two police killed and five wounded.

However, doctors at the city hospital said they had received the bodies of at least five police, as well as at least 30 wounded people, including 20 civilians.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reporting more than 100 police were killed and wounded. The Islamist group often exaggerates casualty numbers in attacks against government targets and security forces.

Insurgent groups like the Taliban and Islamic State have launched a string of attacks across Afghanistan in recent weeks.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a mosque in Kabul on Thursday.

A massive truck bombing and later suicide attacks left hundreds dead and wounded at the end of May and beginning of June, raising political tensions for the Afghan government, which is struggling to combat rising violence and corruption.

Thousands of international troops remain in the country to train and assist Afghan security forces as well as carry out counterterrorism missions.

American defence officials say in coming weeks they will decide whether to send between 3,000 to 5,000 more troops as requested by military commanders. </s> A Taliban attack on a police headquarters in Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan has left at least five policemen dead and 25 more people injured, according to media reports.



A suicide attacker detonated a car packed with explosives at the entrance of the police compound in the city of Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, as cited by Reuters. The attacker opened the way for other insurgents to penetrate the headquarters’ territory.

READ MORE: 7 US soldiers injured in inside attack at Afghan military camp

Two police officers were killed and five wounded during the attack, Reuters reports, citing Danish. The news agency cites local hospitals as saying that five policemen are dead and least 30 people injured, including 20 civilians.

Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by the Taliban terrorist group, which asserted that at least 100 police officers had been killed, according to Reuters.

Another blast occurred inside the police compound when a second suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest, AP reports, citing local police official Sardar Wali Tabasim. He added that two other insurgents were killed by police, but a fight with one remaining attacker is ongoing. Eight officers were also injured, Tabasim said.

READ MORE: 4,000 more US troops to be sent to Afghanistan – report </s> Dozens of people were killed or wounded when as many as five suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials say.

The attack began about 6:30am when one bomber detonated a car packed with explosives at the gate of the police headquarters in Gardez city, capital of Paktia province, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Four more attackers stormed the gate after the blast, with at least two quickly killed by police.

The others held out against Afghan special forces that had responded to the attack, he said.

Mr Danish put the toll at two police killed and five wounded.

However, doctors at the city hospital said they had received the bodies of at least five police, as well as at least 30 wounded people, including 20 civilians.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reporting more than 100 police were killed and wounded.

The Islamist group often exaggerates casualty numbers in attacks against government targets and security forces.

Insurgent groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State have launched a string of attacks across Afghanistan in recent weeks.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a mosque in Kabul on Thursday.

A massive truck bombing and later suicide attacks left hundreds dead and wounded at the end of May and beginning of June, raising political tensions for the Afghan Government, which is struggling to combat rising violence and corruption.

Thousands of international troops remain in the country to train and assist Afghan security forces as well as carry out counterterrorism missions.

American defence officials say they will decide in the coming weeks whether to send between 3,000 to 5,000 more troops as requested by military commanders. </s> related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Dozens of people were killed or wounded when as many as five suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said.

GARDEZ, Afghanistan: Dozens of people were killed or wounded when as many as five suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said.

The attack, claimed by the Taliban, began around 6:30 a.m. (0200 GMT) when one bomber detonated a car packed with explosives at the gate of the police headquarters in Gardez city, capital of Paktia province, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Four more attackers stormed the gate after the blast, with at least two quickly killed by police. The others held out against Afghan special forces that had responded to the attack, he said.

Danish put the toll at two police killed and five wounded.

However, doctors at the city hospital said they had received the bodies of at least five police, as well as at least 30 wounded people, including 20 civilians.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reporting more than 100 police were killed and wounded. The Islamist group often exaggerates casualty numbers in attacks against government targets and security forces.

Insurgent groups like the Taliban and Islamic State have launched a string of attacks across Afghanistan in recent weeks.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a mosque in Kabul on Thursday.

A massive truck bombing and later suicide attacks left hundreds dead and wounded at the end of May and beginning of June, raising political tensions for the Afghan government, which is struggling to combat rising violence and corruption.

Thousands of international troops remain in the country to train and assist Afghan security forces as well as carry out counterterrorism missions.

American defence officials say in coming weeks they will decide whether to send between 3,000 to 5,000 more troops as requested by military commanders. </s> Dozens of people were killed or wounded when as many as five suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials said.

The attack, claimed by the Taliban, began around 6:30 a.m. (0200 GMT) when one bomber detonated a car packed with explosives at the gate of the police headquarters in Gardez city, capital of Paktia province, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Four more attackers stormed the gate after the blast, with at least two quickly killed by police. The others held out against Afghan special forces that had responded to the attack, he said.

Danish put the toll at two police killed and five wounded.

However, doctors at the city hospital said they had received the bodies of at least five police, as well as at least 30 wounded people, including 20 civilians.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reporting more than 100 police were killed and wounded. The Islamist group often exaggerates casualty numbers in attacks against government targets and security forces.

Insurgent groups like the Taliban and Islamic State have launched a string of attacks across Afghanistan in recent weeks.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a mosque in Kabul on Thursday.

A massive truck bombing and later suicide attacks left hundreds dead and wounded at the end of May and beginning of June, raising political tensions for the Afghan government, which is struggling to combat rising violence and corruption.

Thousands of international troops remain in the country to train and assist Afghan security forces as well as carry out counterterrorism missions.

American defense officials say in coming weeks they will decide whether to send between 3,000 to 5,000 more troops as requested by military commanders. </s> Kabul: A suicide bomber struck a voter registration centre in the Afghanistan capital on Sunday, killing at least 31 people, officials said.

Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majro said another 54 people were wounded in Sunday's attack, updating an earlier toll. General Daud Amin, the Kabul police chief, said the suicide bomber targeted civilians who had gathered to receive national identification cards.

The large explosion echoed across the city, shattering windows miles away from the attack site and damaging several nearby vehicles. Police blocked all roads to the blast site, with only ambulances allowed in. Local TV stations broadcast live footage of hundreds of distraught people gathered at nearby hospitals seeking word about loved ones.

The Taliban, who usually claim their attacks, denied involvement. That means the bombing was likely carried out by a local Islamic State affiliate, which has been behind past bombings in Kabul that targeted civilians. Both groups are opposed to democratic elections.

Last week, three police officers responsible for guarding voter registration centres in two Afghan provinces were killed by militants, according to authorities.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a district police chief in the northern Balkh province died of his wounds after being shot Saturday during a gunbattle with insurgents, according to Sher Jan Durrani, spokesman for the provincial police chief in Balkh. He said around a dozen insurgents were also killed in the battle, which is still underway.

Durrani identified the slain commander as Halim Khanjar, police chief for the Char Bolak district.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing. </s> KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A local police chief in Afghanistan says a suicide car bombing targeted Afghan soldiers lining up outside a bank in southern Helmand province, killing at least 15 people.

Provincial police chief Gen. Agha Noor Kentoz says the attacker struck on Thursday in Lashkargah, the provincial capital. He says at least a dozen people were wounded in the explosion outside a Kabul Bank branch.

People likely had gathered there to collect salaries ahead of the upcoming holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Haji Moladad Tobagar, health director in Lashkargah told The Associated Press that the hospital received 25 bodies after the attack, as well as 60 wounded.

He says he fears an even higher casualty toll as more victims were being brought in. The discrepancies in the casualty tolls could not immediately be reconciled. </s> KHOST: Hundreds of mourners Saturday buried the victims of a twin suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan, as the death toll rose to 35, officials said.

Two suicide bombers dressed as women struck a Shiite mosque in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers.

The burqa-clad attackers shot at the mosque's security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives.

"The death toll from Friday's mosque attack in Gardez has jumped to 35 with 94 wounded," Paktia governor Shamim Khan Katawazi told AFP.

Officials had earlier said 29 people were killed and more than 80 wounded.

"Today, we held funeral ceremony and buried all the martyred of Friday's attack," a weeping Sayed Moharram, who lost his 16-year old son, told AFP from a graveyard on the outskirts of Gardez where hundreds of people attended the ceremony.

"It is very difficult for me to accept my son is no more with me," he said.

Haji Sultan, 70, who also attended, accused the government of "negligence" in providing security for the Shiite minority.

"The enemies of Afghanistan want to create division by carrying out attacks on Shiite people, but they cannot win, it will further increase hatred towards the enemies," he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban denied involvement but in recent years the Islamic State group has carried out attacks on Shiites in Afghanistan.

The attack comes as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by a surge in violence in recent months, with both Islamic State and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and government installations.

The Taliban have not claimed a major attack in a city for weeks as they come under increased pressure to agree to peace talks with the Afghan government.

But IS has carried out multiple attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad and the capital Kabul in recent months, targeting everything from government ministries to a midwife training centre.

Last month an IS suicide bomber blew himself up near Kabul international airport, killing 23 people including AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar.

The uptick in violence comes as US and Afghan forces intensify ground and air offensives against IS, and the Taliban step up their turf war with the group.

Earlier this week more than 150 IS fighters surrendered in northern Afghanistan -- in a move that Afghan security forces and the Taliban hailed as the end of the extremist group in the north of the country.
A coordinated suicide bombing attack on a police station in the town of Gardez in Paktia Province results in dozens of people killed and injured.