The Taliban on Thursday claimed a deadly attack on a government compound in central Afghanistan the night before that killed at least 15 security personnel and three district officials, AP reported.

The attackers stormed a secure compound in the Khuja Omari district on Wednesday night, after which security forces fought back, deputy chief police in the Ghazni province, Ramazan Ali Moseni, said. Moseni said at least 25 of the Taliban attackers were killed in the encounter.

Afghan Parliament member Mohammad Arif Rahmani said the three officials killed in the attack were Khwaja Omari District Governor Ali Shams Dost, the intelligence service director and a deputy police official. The attackers reportedly planted mines to stop security forces and back-up from helping the government forces.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told the agency that the attackers had taken control of all security posts in the district – a claim the Afghanistan government is yet to confirm or respond to.