MAIDAN SHAR, Afghanistan, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Casualties were feared after a Taliban car bomb explosion and ensuing gun fight hit an Afghan Special Forces' station in Maidan Shar, capital of eastern Wardak province on Monday, a local official said.
"The blast occurred roughly at 8:40 a.m. in the city at the main gate of the facility. We still cannot provide details on causalities. There is fear of possible causalities," provincial government spokesman Abd-u-Rahman Mangal told Xinhua.
Security forces have cordoned off the area for precautionary measures.
The blast caused a plume of gray smoke to rise above the scene.
Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after the blast.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, told local media that a militant of insurgents' fighters stormed a security force's base with a car bomb and the huge blast was immediately followed by an assault by second group of the armed militants.
Taliban militants, who ruled the country before being ousted in late 2001, renewed armed insurgency, killing government troops as well as civilians.
On Sunday, eight Afghan security force members were killed and several others wounded after a Taliban suicide car bombing struck a provincial governor motorcade in neighboring Logar province. Enditem
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