Afghanistan: Taliban Attack Northern Police HQ, Kill 13 Officers Waiting For Pay

By Staff, Agencies

Unarmed police officers were lining up for their monthly pay in northern Afghanistan on Sunday when a Taliban suicide bomber blew up an explosives-laden Humvee next to a police compound, setting off a six-hour siege.

At least 13 officers lost their lives and dozens others were in wake of the attack.

The assault took place in the city of Pul-e-Khumri.

Clashes between gunmen and security services followed.

The attack came days after the Taliban rejected a ceasefire offered by the country's government and backed by the US.

Relatively, Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said eight Taliban fighters were shot dead.

More than 50 people were wounded, 20 of them civilians. Children were among the dead, an Afghan health official said.

The Taliban, which wants strict Islamic rule in the country, said it was behind the bloodshed.

Among those killed was Hasibullah Amiri, commander of a 300-strong police battalion in the Baghlan district of Dahana-i-Ghori, said Asadullah Shahbaz, another provincial council member. Police officers and commanders travel from districts outside the provincial capital to collect their monthly pay.

The terror group carries out frequent attacks on Afghan forces and now controls more territory than at any point since it was toppled from power in 2001.

Officials say armed Taliban fighters entered the police headquarters after an explosion at its gate before firing on Afghan security services inside.

The group is known to use armored vehicles laden with explosives to target military and police facilities.