KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) — At least five militants and one Afghan army soldier were killed after Taliban attacked government buildings in a district of the southern Kandahar province on Thursday, an official said.

“The attack started at around 8:00 a.m. local time (0330 GMT) after one militant set off a car bomb near an army base in Arghandab district,” provincial police spokesman Zia Durani told Xinhua.

“Four militants armed with suicide jackets and guns tried to assault the base and the neighboring district police station,” he said.

The security forces responded to the attack and killed four assailants before they approached the buildings, he said.

Three army soldiers were also wounded by blast and ensuing clash in the district, north of the provincial capital of Kandahar city, according to Durani.

The Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a purported Taliban spokesman, told local media that a Taliban suicide squad conducted the assault, killing and injuring several army and police personnel. The claim was rejected by Durani as baseless.

In a separate development, one provincial prosecutor was killed and two prosecutors wounded after gunmen fired on them in the eastern Logar province Wednesday night.

The victims were leaving their office when they came under attack in the province, some 60 km south of Kabul, according to provincial government spokesman Salim Salah.

The Taliban had intensified attacks over the past months as the militant group tried to take territory and consolidate its positions ahead of winter in the country.

They urged civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers regarded as the legitimate targets by militants while warning people not to support the government.