Suicide Truck Bombing Kills Four Afghan Police

A suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden truck into a police base near Kabul on Monday, killing four officers and wounding 17 other people including a local police chief, Afghan officials said.

The Taliban, the main Islamist militant group behind Afghanistan's 12-year insurgency, claimed responsibility for the attack in the Nerkh district of Wardak province, southwest of the Afghan capital.

The attacker detonated a small truck packed with explosives at the entrance of the police headquarters as worshipers gathered at the base's mosque for morning prayers.

Four police were killed and at least 17 other people, among them district police chief Abdul Ghafour, were wounded, district governor Mohammad Hanif Hanifi told Agence France Presse.

"Four of the wounded are in a bad condition," Hanifi said.

Attaullah Khogyani, the Wardak provincial administration spokesman, confirmed the incident and gave a similar toll for the casualties.

Taliban claimed credit for the attack in a text message to AFP.

Suicide attacks and improvised bombs are the main insurgency weapon in Afghanistan, where 75,000 of NATO and U.S. troops are due to withdraw by the end of next year.