GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): Taliban insurgents detonated two powerful truck bombs outside the National Directorate of Security (NDS) office and a police station in southern Ghazni province on Thursday, killing 14 security personnel, including civilians, and 19 attackers while injuring 154 others, officials said.

Deputy police chief Col. Asadullah Insaf told Pajhwok Afghan News the first truck bomb was followed by another powerful blast that targeted a police station housing quick reaction force before a intense gunbattle erupted between the attackers and security forces.

Civil Hospital director Dr. Baz Mohammad Himmat said most of the injured were civilians and they included security personnel. Six of them were in critical condition, he said.

However, eyewitnesses feared the death toll could climb. Governor Musa Khan Akbarzada told reporters that investigation into the attack had been launched.

He said 19 insurgents were involved in the attack and the explosions shattered windows of nearby shops and houses.

The blast at the NDS office entrance sent broken glass raining down on civilians before security forces fought an intense battle with the attackers and finally regained control.

The deputy police chief said the ensuing gun battle lasted three hours and all the 19 attackers had been killed.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said several security personnel had been killed and wounded in the early morning attack.

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