Taliban attack Afghan military base, killing 12

A Taliban assault on a military base and police training center in a province just outside the Afghan capital on Monday killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 30, officials said.

Salem Asgherkhail, head of the area’s public health department, says most of those killed in the attack in Maidan Wardak province were military personnel. Some of the wounded were taken to local hospitals for treatment while the more serious cases were sent to the capital, Kabul.

Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the interior minister, says a suicide car bomber struck the base before insurgents opened fire. Sharifullah Hotak, a provincial council member, says four attackers took part in the assault after the bombing, all of whom were killed in the ensuing gunbattle. Hotak said it was a training base for new recruits from the area.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement to the media.

— AP