 Defense Sec. Chuck Hagel visited troops in Afghanistan in March |
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Insurgents wearing Afghan National Army uniforms killed at least 44 people and wounded nearly 100 others Wednesday in a nearly nine-hour attack on Afghan government buildings in the southwestern province of Farah, said Mohammad Akram Ekhpelwak, the province's governor.
The firefight has ended.
The attackers drove army vehicles to gain access to the area, said police chief Noor Agha Kantoz.
The militants began their attack by detonating a vehicle laden with explosives, said Abdul Rahman Ezhwandai, a spokesman for the governor.
The blast wrecked the targeted buildings and others nearby in the capital city of Farah. The main targets appeared to be the courthouse and the attorney general's office.
Kantoz said that two suicide attackers detonated explosives while storming the buildings.
Soldiers from the Afghan National Army engaged the enemy, killing at least two, he said. They continue to battle fighters who have taken cover in the courthouse.
The wounded have been taken to a local hospital, Ekhpelwak said. Most of them were civilians.
CNN's Masoud Popalzai reported from Kabul; CNN's Ben Brumfield reported from Atlanta.
