Taliban militants have launched an attack on a district government compound in southeastern Afghanistan, killing more than a dozen people including the local governor, officials say.
Provincial officials said on April 12 that the governor, police, and intelligence officers were among those killed in the overnight raid on the Khwaja Omari district headquarters in Ghazni Province.
Deputy provincial police chief Ramazan Ali Mohsini said 25 Taliban fighters were also killed in the gunbattle that started late on April 11 and lasted into the morning.
"The attack is over and the district is under the control of Afghan security forces after reinforcement forces rushed to the scene," Mohsini said.
A member of the provincial council, Ghulam Sakhi Amar, said the attackers torched the district governor's office building after removing weapons and other equipment.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the raid, saying more than 20 members of Afghan security forces were killed and several others wounded. It said three militants also died and four others were wounded.
The assault comes as the Western-backed government in Kabul has been struggling to fend off the Taliban and other militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO troops in 2014.
With reporting by AFP and dpa
