Taliban kill 53 in Afghan court attack

The death toll from Wednesday's massive Taliban attack against an Afghan court office building in the western city of Farah has risen to 53 with over 100 others injured, local media reported."In Wednesday's Taliban coordinated attack against the Farah appellate court 53 people were killed and over 100 wounded," local TV channel Arianna reported citing provincial officials.Those who had been killed included 34 civilians, 10 security members and nine attackers.The attack aimed to release 13 Taliban members who were standing trial in the building in Farah, the provincial capital of the same name province 695 km west of Kabul.Two of the attackers wearing army uniform detonated a car bomb near the entrance of the compound enabling other militants to take positions. The gunfight lasted for nine hours and several buildings and cars around the scene were damaged in the attack starting early Wednesday morning.No official with the Interior Ministry was available to make comments.The Taliban claimed the responsibility for the attack.The insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than a decade, has recently intensified attacks across the country as spring and summer known as the fighting season is drawing near.The Taliban-led insurgency and conflicts claimed the lives of more than 2,800 Afghan security forces and over 400 foreign soldiers besides leaving 2,750 civilians dead last year in the central Asian state.