At least 60 wounded in car bomb in Afghanistan's Samangan

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - Around 60 people have been injured after a combined car bomb and shooting attack on an Afghan security office in the northern province of Samangan in Afghanistan.

The Taliban has claimed it is behind the attack.

The attack outside the office Aghanistan’s spy agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), in Aybak, the provincial capital of Samangan, began at 11am and still rages.

“I was just stepping out of my office to go for field work when I heard and felt the explosion. Our office is about a kilometre away from the NDS,” said 35-year-old Amin Aarween, an NGO worker from Aybak.

“It felt like the bomb was in our car. I froze for few seconds and I could see people around me were panicked, running and crying to find a safe place. It was a scary few minutes.”

The area of the attack was cordoned off by the security forces as NDS forces continued to engage in a battle with gunmen alongside the local police. Many senior NDS officials are reportedly still stuck inside the facility in safe rooms.

A police official at the scene of the attack confirmed to The National by telephone that the attack was still ongoing.

“The attackers have entered the municipal office next door to the NDS and are firing from there,” he said, as ongoing gunshots could be heard in the background of the call.

“About 50 injured people have been carried to the hospital so far and their condition is not good,” he said.

Although the number of casualties has not been confirmed, fatalities are likely to be high. “NDS shares a wall with the Aybak Municipality and many civilians were outside waiting to get their work done. So it is likely many casualties will be civilians,” Mr Aarween speculated.

Mr Arween’s house is located close to the site of the attack and was damaged by the explosion. “I talked to my family and some of them have suffered minor injuries, but they are okay. Our house is badly damaged though,” he added.

The force of the explosion was felt across the small city of Aybak, which has less than 10,000 residents.

“People are scared. Unfortunately this is the not first attack and such security issues have become normal to people,” Mr Aarween said.

Fighting between the Taliban and Afghan forces in the northern provinces has escalated over the last weeks. As a result the Baghlan highway, an important trade route—that passes through Aybak—has remained closed for much of the last week, officials shared.