Afghan security forces on Thursday brought an end to a six-hour gun and grenade siege by Taliban insurgents on a court complex in northern Afghanistan, with the death toll rising to 10.

Afghan security forces on Thursday brought an end to a six-hour gun and grenade siege by Taliban insurgents on a court complex in northern Afghanistan, with the death toll rising to 10.

"Five security personnel and five civilians were killed and 66 others were wounded," said Abdul Raziq Qaderi, the acting provincial police chief of Balkh province.