5 killed in Taliban attack against Kabul police station

Five people were killed in a car bombing targeting a district police station and ensuing gunfight between Taliban militants and policemen in suburban Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Friday morning, police said. "Three of the station policemen were injured and a bystander police officer of the Interior Ministry who was waiting for the vehicle near the compound was martyred as a result of the powerful car bombing," Kabul police chief General Mohammad Zahir told local media. The attack took place at around 6:15 a.m. (local time) in Surobi district of the Kabul province. Three militants were killed by the security forces during the gun battle lasting for more than an hour while one attacker was killed in the blast in the district nearly 50 km east of Kabul, the police chief added. The Taliban insurgent group claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after the incident. The Taliban has intensified attacks recently as the Afghan army and police took the full operational lead from foreign troops in June last year. The war-torn country is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from foreign troops by the end of the year. More than 57,000-strong NATO-led foreign troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are currently being deployed in Afghanistan.