Afghan police station targeted in suicide attack as roadside bomb wounds female politician

KABUL – Taliban suicide attackers assaulted an Afghan police station Tuesday, killing one officer as a separate roadside bombing targeted a prominent female politician in the country’s east, authorities said.

The attack on a police headquarters in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province saw insurgents first detonate a suicide car bomb followed by a suicide bomber on foot, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said. Three more gunmen attacked following the bombings and died in a shootout with police, Sediqqi said.

A statement from President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, saying it killed one police officer.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the attack in a message on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the roadside bomb in Jalalabad near a school exploded as Angeza Shinwari, a Nangarhar province councilwoman, drove past. The blast killed her driver and severely wounded Shinwari and another person, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for that attack.

Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks on Afghan soldiers and police in recent months. U.S. and NATO forces formally ended their combat mission at the end of last year, leaving Afghan security forces in charge of public safety in the country.