Seven Taliban suicide attackers stormed a police station in the centre of Jalalabad city in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 10 policemen in a major assault ahead of the presidential election.

Seven Taliban suicide attackers stormed a police station in the centre of Jalalabad city in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 10 policemen in a major assault ahead of the presidential election.

The target of the truck bomb and gun assault was a police station near the governor's house in the city, which has been the scene of repeated militant attacks in recent years.

The Taliban have vowed a campaign of violence to disrupt the election on April 5, and a spokesman for the insurgents claimed responsibility for the early-morning suicide strike which also left a civilian dead.

"Ten policemen, including the district police chief, were killed and 14 police were wounded," deputy interior minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi told AFP.
"One civilian was also killed, and all seven attackers.”

Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the interior ministry, said one or two attackers had holed up in a small room inside the police station before they were finally killed by security forces.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the attack began when a mini-truck loaded with explosives was detonated at the station's entrance.

The blast left debris littered across the surrounding streets as security forces cordoned off the scene.

Homayoun Zaheer, chief doctor at Jalalabad hospital, told AFP that a total of 20 people had been treated for injuries.

The area of the attack includes the compound of the governor of Nangarhar province, of which Jalalabad is the capital, several other government buildings and the state-run television station.