A wounded Afghan policeman receives treatment at a hospital after the attack on the Interior Ministry in Kabul. (CNN) — At least one police officer was killed and five others injured in an attack on the Afghan Interior Ministry in Kabul on Wednesday, according to police. CNNI Ten assailants attacked the ministry after an explosives-laden vehicle detonated at the front gate of the compound, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish. All the attackers were killed by security forces after a nearly two-hour assault. Danish did not provide information on any civilian casualties. Rahmat Gul/AP Afghan security personnel guard the site of the attack. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack a few hours later in a statement released by ISIS’ media wing, Amaq Agency. The Amaq statement did not provide the names or specify the number of attackers. ISIS Claims Responsibility Kabul has suffered several attacks claimed by ISIS this year including a suicide blast at a voter registration center last month that killed 57 people. ISIS also claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in April that killed 31 people across the Afghan capital, including 10 journalists.<doc-sep>The suspected Taliban fighters who attacked the Afghan interior ministry Wednesday were wearing old U.S. Army Universal Camouflage Pattern Uniforms and driving a captured Humvee, a tactic the enemy has used in the past, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan said today. "Eight terrorists in a captured Humvee attempted to penetrate the Minister of Interior headquarters in downtown Kabul," Army Gen. John Nicholson, Operation Resolute Support mission commander, told reporters at the Pentagon. The attackers were attempting to drive through a checkpoint into the government complex when they were stopped by Afghan security, he said. "They were wearing old-style Army uniforms," Nicholson said. "The good news is that the guards at the gate, the Afghan guards, immediately recognized these as old uniforms, called on them to exit the vehicle so they could be checked out and, at that point, the fighting started." Nicholson said he was told one of the attackers "detonated his suicide vest and actually killed himself and some of his colleagues as they were conducting the attack." "They never gained entrance to the MOI headquarters," he said. The Afghan special police reaction unit on "alert status inside the city quickly reacted and killed all these terrorists before they could gain entrance to the MOI," Nicholson said. Seven of the eight enemy fighters were killed in the attempted attack; one was taken prisoner, Nicholson said. "Sadly, one of our Afghan comrades was killed and a few more were wounded, but the attack failed," he said. U.S. and coalition forces believe the Taliban's Haqqani Network launched the attack, Nicholson said, adding that it tracks with its previous tactics. Enemy forces have used captured uniforms in the past in an attempt to fool security, but "frankly it has been well over a year" since that has occurred, he said. "Obviously, it's a concern if the enemy is wearing old uniforms. It might cause a hesitation or a delay ... but again I point to the alertness and the quick reaction of the Afghan security forces on the scene," Nicholson said. "They did exactly what they were supposed to do." -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.<doc-sep>KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers stormed the heavily fortified headquarters of the Afghan interior ministry on Wednesday, battling security forces for more than two hours in the latest attack on the capital Kabul. A car bomb was detonated at the entrance of the ministry to launch the attack and then several gunmen managed to get inside the compound, said a senior police official. Najib Danish, the ministry spokesman, confirmed the attack was carried out by a group of 10 militants and at least one policeman was killed and five were wounded. A senior ministry official said one attacker blew himself up inside the compound and another was resisting from a watchtower as a plume of dust and smoke rose over the sprawling site. Officials inside the ministry said the attackers could not breach key buildings as they are located far from the main entrance and there is a wide flat space inside the compound, helping Afghan forces to subdue the attack quickly. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series in Kabul this year that has killed and wounded hundreds of people, despite repeated official pledges to improve security in the capital. Last month, two explosions in Kabul killed at least 26 people, including nine journalists who had arrived to report on an initial blast and were targeted by a suicide bomber which was claimed by the Islamic State fighters. A week before that, 60 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a voter registration center in the city. Islamic State has claimed many attacks in Kabul but Afghan security officials doubt the claims and say many of the attacks are much more likely to be the work of the Haqqani network, a group affiliated with the Taliban which has proven expertise in mounting urban attacks. Slideshow ( 5 images ) The attacks underline a worsening security situation ahead of parliamentary and district council elections scheduled for Oct. 20. The Taliban have threatened to attack voter registration centers. Security in and around Kabul has been on high alert in recent days with more checkpoints and patrols as the government warned of “complex attacks” by the Taliban on the government or foreign installations in coming weeks. Provincial cities have also been hit as the Taliban, seeking to reimpose hardline Islamic rule, have stepped up fighting across the country since they announced the beginning of their annual spring offensive in April.<doc-sep>
KABUL, Afghanistan -- The area around the Afghan Interior Ministry was rocked by several loud explosions and gunfire on Wednesday, in what appeared to be the latest in a series of attacks in Kabul. Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the ministry, confirmed the attack. A local affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Afghanistan claimed the attack in a statement published online. Both the ISIS affiliate and the Taliban have launched several attacks in Kabul in recent months, killing hundreds of people. Minister of Interior spokesman Najib Danish said there were two explosions at the first gate of the ministry compound and the attackers managed to breach the first checkpoint and engage security forces between the first and second checkpoints. The attackers did not manage to enter the main compound. Danish said 10 attackers were involved; three with suicide vests and seven others armed with weapons and wearing military style uniforms. Danish said that based on initial information one police officer was killed and five others injured. He said the situation was under control right now, and all the attackers appeared to be dead. He said there may also have been civilian casualties but those details would be released later. Danish said that some of the terrorists still had their suicide vests intact and technicians were defusing the devices. Afghan policemen stand guard amid an attack and gunfire in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 30, 2018. REUTERS Elsewhere in Afghanistan, Taliban suicide bombers attacked a police station in the eastern Logar province, killing at least three police. Among the dead were the commander of the police station and the deputy director of traffic police for the provincial capital, Puli Alim, said Khalid Safi, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Another four police and eight civilians, including two children, were wounded in the attack early Wednesday, said Shah Poor Ahmadzai, spokesman for the provincial police chief. He said the attackers set off a suicide car bomb at the entrance to the station before three suicide bombers tried to enter. He said all three were shot and killed by security forces within minutes of the initial attack, adding that a number of nearby homes were damaged. The Taliban claimed the attack.