More than 40 people have been wounded after gunmen clashed with security forces following a car-bomb blast at a government compound in Afghanistan's northern province of Samangan.
The attack on Monday took place at a government facility in Samangan's capital, Aybak, close to an office of the National Security Directorate, the main intelligence agency, officials said.
It was not immediately clear what the target of the attack was or who was behind it.
"It's a complex attack that started with a car bomb. Clashes with the attackers are still going on," said Mohammad Sediq Azizi, a spokesman for Samangan's provincial government.
The province's health director, Khalil Musadeq, said 43 civilians and members of the security forces had been wounded in the attack, with that number expected to rise and deaths expected.
The attack comes at a sensitive time as violence in the country ramps up even as the United States tries to usher the government and the Taliban towards peace talks to end more than 18 years of war.
The so-called intra-Afghan dialogue was agreed as part of the US-Taliban deal signed in the Qatari capital Doha.
The February agreement, which excluded the Kabul government, called for a gradual withdrawal of US forces and a prisoner swap between Kabul and the Taliban.
The Taliban has been fighting foreign forces since it was toppled from power in a US-led invasion in 2001.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident.
On Sunday, accusing the Afghan government of delaying the start of talks, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Taliban was "left with no option but to continue the war."
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies