15 dead, over 40 wounded in Afghan police centre attack: Hospital

KHOST: A suicide and gun attack on a police training centre in southeast Afghanistan on Tuesday has killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 40, a hospital official said.  

Among those killed inclued Paktia police chief Toryalai Abdyani. The victims include "women, students and police", Hedayatullah Hamidi, public health director in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, told AFP.

Suicide bombers and gunmen launched an attack on a police training centre in southeastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, officials said, in the latest violence to rock the war-torn country.

The Taliban claimed responsibility in a tweet for the ongoing attack at the centre in Gardiz, capital of Paktia province, which borders Pakistan. 

"At first a suicide bomber detonated a car filled with explosives near the training centre, making way for a number of attackers to start their assault", the interior ministry said in a statement.

A battle between the attackers, armed with guns and suicide vests, and security forces was under way inside the centre which is located near the Paktia police headquarters, according to the interior ministry statement.

A local official said two car bombs blew up near the compound that also houses the provincial headquarters of the national police, border police and Afghan National Army. 

"A group of gunmen have entered the compound and fighting is ongoing," Allah Mir Bahram, a member of the Paktia provincial council, told AFP.