Attack of a vice presidential candidate killing 24 people in Kabul | Chronic

Last night in Kabul, an attack on the offices of the candidacy partner of the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, killed 24 people, including four attackers, and 50 wounded, authorities said.

"As a result of the attack, 20 people died, plus the four attackers and 50 others were injured."said the spokesman of the Ministry of the Interior, Nasrat Rahimi.

The dead included 16 civilians and four members of the security forces.

The four attackers also died in the aggression of the party's offices of the former chief intelligence officer Amrullah Saleh and Ghani's vice-presidential candidate in the September 28 general election.

Security forces rescued 150 people who were stranded in the building during the badault.

The episode began with the explosion of a car bomb in the immediate vicinity of the offices, after which three attackers stormed the building, in which they entrenched themselves until around midnight.

Special forces launched an operation to "clean" the four-story building that lasted six hours.

Ghani said that Saleh, who was in the office, had survived the attack and that his party had shown photos of the political leader at home, the EFE news agency reported.

"My brother, a genuine Afghan son and first vice-president of my electoral team, @ AmrullahSaleh2, survived a complex attack by the enemies of the state"Ghani said on Twitter.

The attack comes after this Sunday began the campaign for the presidential election on September 28, in which Ghani seeks to renew his term.

Elections, the fourth since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, are taking place simultaneously with peace talks between the United States and the insurgents.

The Afghan government on Saturday announced two-week talks with the Taliban, who announced Sunday that they would negotiate with Kabul as soon as they reach an agreement with the United States for the withdrawal of their troops.

Despite the talks, violence continues throughout the country with constant attacks. Last week, at least five attacks took place in the Afghan capital, killing 34 people.