According to Afghan officials in Samangan province in northern Afghanistan, an attack by armed men and a car bomb on Monday afternoon left 12 security forces dead and at least 63 injured including civilians.

Sadiq Azizi, the spokesperson for the governor of Samangan told Iran International that the armed men entered the government building and after several hours of firefight, they were killed by Afghan forces. All three assailants including the driver of the car with the bomb were killed.

The Taliban has accepted responsibility for the attack and announced that the target of this attack was the national security office building in Samangan province. The spokesman for Taliban claimed in a tweet that almost 70 national security personnel were killed or injured.

Previously, Afghanistan’s government officials had announced that after signing an agreement with the U.S, the Taliban had pledged not to attack the cities and military centers. However, in recent weeks, the war between the armed forces of the government and the Taliban has increased throughout the country.

The government of Afghanistan and the Taliban are getting ready for direct negotiations next month.