KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2020) Over 40 people were killed and injured in the explosion near the National Directorate of Security (NDS) office in Afghanistan's northern Samangan province, an eyewitness told Sputnik on Monday.
"More than 40 persons [were] killed and injured in an explosion near the National Directorate of Security in Samangan province," the eyewitness said.
Mohammad Sediq Azizi, a spokesman for the Samangan governor, told Sputnik that several militants may have entered the NDS office. He also said shots could be heard inside the building.
The gunfire started after a car bomb blast, Azizi confirmed.
According to the governor's spokesman, 43 people were injured in the incident.
The TOLO news broadcaster also reported that at least 43 people, including three children, were hospitalized after the explosion.
The Taliban radical movement has claimed responsibility for the incident, saying it staged a suicide attack on the "Kabul administration's intelligence base" in the provincial capital. According to the Taliban, at least 70 Afghan intelligence staffers were killed and wounded, and the fighting continues.
