Deadly assault on Afghan compound

14 August 2011 Last updated at 05:26 ET

The governor, seen here in an archive image, said up to six attackers had struck

At least 16 people are dead and 29 others injured after militants in Afghanistan stormed the provincial governor’s compound in Parwan.

Powerful explosions followed by bursts of gunfire were heard in the provincial capital, Charikar, an hour’s drive north-west of Kabul, witnesses said.

The governor, Abdul Basir Salangi, told media from inside the compound that up to six suicide bombers had struck.

Taliban insurgents say they carried out the attack, which lasted several hours.

The BBC’s Quentin Sommerville says Parvan is usually relatively peaceful.

However, under-equipped police there have been struggling both to resist Taliban militants and a rising crime level.

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the compound just after 11:00 (06:30 GMT), the Afghan interior ministry said.

A meeting of security chiefs was under way at the time, with local police and intelligence chiefs present, along with advisers from the international coalition.

Speaking to private TV channel Tolo News, the governor said that those inside the compound had fought back.

An interior ministry spokesman, Siddiq Siddiqi, told AFP news agency that policemen and officials were among those killed.

Mohammad Asif, chief doctor at the Parwan provincial hospital, told Reuters most of the dead were “government employees”.

The governor’s offices have come under attack on previous occasions.

The Taliban recently appeared to change their tactics, launching attacks on prominent figures or targets which were deemed to be particularly well-protected.

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