Taliban claim deadly Afghanistan attack

Two vehicle bombs targeting local police and intelligence offices have exploded in the city of Ghazni south of the Afghan capital Kabul.

Local officials said 18 people were killed and at least 150 were injured in the attack, which also destroyed dozens of shops near the government complex.

The explosions took place around the same time, in the same area, and were followed by at least three hours of fighting, according to witnesses. In a message sent to Al Jazeera, Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said that the armed group was responsible for the attack.

Asadullha Ensafi, the deputy police chief in the provincial capital of Ghazni, said most were injured by broken glass from windows shattered in the explosion. He added the target appeared to be the local office of domestic intelligence.

Musa Khan Akbarzada, governor of the province which is also named Ghazni, told The Associated Press that as many as 13 Taliban fighters had launched the attack. He said the bodies of eight attackers were found after the gun battle with the police.

Sources told Al Jazeera that the death toll is likely to increase, as rescuers try to dig through the rubble looking for bodies.

In recent months, the Taliban has targeted several government facilities in the war-torn country, which is still grappling with a months-long impasse following a contested presidential election between Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, meant to mark the first democratic transfer of power in Afghan history.

Most foreign combat troops are due to leave by the end of 2014 but the election dispute has caused a prolonged delay in signing a security pact with the United States governing how many troops would remain.

On Aug. 30, the Taliban attacked an Afghan intelligence building in the eastern city of Jalalabad, using “a suicide vehicle bomb” followed by a wave of fighters, according to Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor.

According to recent U.N. figures, civilian casualties soared by 24 percent in the first half of 2014, while the International Crisis Group has said the "overall trend is one of escalating violence and insurgent attacks."

Between January and June 2014, there were 1,564 deaths and 3,289 injuries among civilians, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

Al Jazeera and wire services