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Afghan police station attack leaves at least four dead Afghan police station attack leaves at least 18 people dead
(about 4 hours later)
At least four people have died after a suspected suicide attack on a police station in eastern Afghanistan. Taliban fighters have killed at least 10 policeman in an attack on a city in eastern Afghanistan.
Police officials in the city of Jalalabad say gun battles started after a "multi-pronged" attack by insurgents. Gun battles started early on Thursday morning in Jalalabad after a "multi-pronged" attack by insurgents.
Reports suggest a suicide car bomber targeted the police station, together with around five gunmen. Police said they shot dead seven attackers, all of them wearing suicide bomb vests.
A spokesman for the governor of the Nangarhar province said the battle was continuing four hours after the early morning attack started. The attack comes after the Taliban vowed to disrupt the run-up to presidential elections in the country on 5 April.
The insurgents are believed to have stormed the key police station in the heart of the city, close to government offices and the headquarters of the governor. "Ten policemen, including the district police chief, were killed and 14 police were wounded," deputy interior minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi told AFP.
Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the interior ministry, said that five militants had been killed and the remaining attackers remained holed up inside the police station. "One civilian was also killed, and all seven attackers."
Witnesses and rickshaw drivers in the city told the BBC that the state-run Radio Television Afghanistan was one of many buildings that were still on fire following the attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message sent to media.
A senior police official in Nangarhar told the BBC: "There is serious fighting going on between police and the attackers right now." 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 ministery 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.
Witnesses in the city told the BBC that the state-run Radio Television Afghanistan was one of many buildings that were still on fire following the attack.
Mohammad Habib, an eyewitness, said the explosion shook the city.Mohammad Habib, an eyewitness, said the explosion shook the city.
"I woke up and my windows were broken than there were gun shots and explosions through out the morning. Now almost half of the city remains closed," he said. "I woke up and my windows were broken. Then there were gun shots and explosions throughout the morning. Now almost half of the city remains closed," he said.
A local taxi driver Khan Jan told the BBC: "The sound of the explosion was deafening, there was a powerful explosion which broke windows of nearby shops and homes. It woke the city." Local taxi driver Khan Jan told the BBC: "The sound of the explosion was deafening, there was a powerful explosion which broke windows of nearby shops and homes. It woke the city."
On Tuesday, a suicide attack in northern Afghanistan killed 17 civilians including women and children and injured more than 60.On Tuesday, a suicide attack in northern Afghanistan killed 17 civilians including women and children and injured more than 60.
The attacks come as Afghans prepare to hold presidential elections on 5 April. The Taliban have vowed a campaign of violence to disrupt the vote. The Taliban have threatened a campaign of violence to disrupt the election on 5 April.
The poll will choose a new Afghan president to lead the country as foreign troops prepare to end their combat mission by the end of the year.