KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — At least three people were killed Tuesday when Taliban militants launched a coordinated attack against a police base in eastern Khost province, Afghan officials said.
Habib Shah Ansari, provincial health director in Khost said that so far three bodies and around 30 wounded, both military and civilian, were brought to hospital.
The attack in Khost comes as the Afghan government continues to fight Taliban militants even as peace talks in Qatar between the two sides take place for the first time.
Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Aran said that earlier Tuesday morning a vehicle full of explosives detonated near a base belonging to a police special force.
He added that so far at least four attackers were killed and Afghan forces are fighting two others who are still resisting with forces.
Aran said that a gun battle is underway between the attackers and the Afghan forces, which may increase casualties.
The violence comes amid an uptick of attacks. Afghanistan claimed Sunday it killed a top al-Qaida propagandist on an FBI most-wanted list during an operation in the country’s east, showing the militant group’s continued presence there as U.S. forces work to withdraw from America’s longest-running war amid continued bloodshed.
The reported death of Husam Abd al-Rauf, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhsin al-Masri, follows weeks of violence, including a suicide bombing by the Islamic State group Saturday at an education center near Kabul that killed 24 people.