Suicide car bombing kills 12 Afghan special forces

Taliban claim responsibility for attack in central Maidan Wardak province

Suicide car bombing kills 12 Afghan special forces

At least 12 personnel of Afghan special forces were killed in a suicide car bombing in central Maidan Wardak province, officials said on Monday.

Nusrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, told Anadolu Agency the incident took place at around 8.00 a.m. local time (0330 GMT) and the target of the attack was a facility of National Directorate of Security, the country’s spy agency.

Rahimi said the security forces managed to kill the two militants who wished to wage armed assault after the bombing.

In a statement, the provincial administration noted that 12 Afghan special forces were killed and 28 others injured in the attack in the provincial capital Maidan Shahar.

Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack.

Maidan Wardak province is situated at less than 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of the capital Kabul.

This is the second suicide car bombing of the sort in two days indicating an evident surge in the Taliban’s onslaughts amid stalled peace process.

A day earlier, the Taliban claimed similar car bombing aimed at the convoy of a provincial governor in Logar province that killed at least eight security forces.