At least 7 policemen were killed and 15 others were wounded in a car bomb explosion that occurred in the city of Ghazni on Saturday evening, targeting a unit of the public protection forces, a security source said on Sunday. 

The explosion was followed by an attempt to storm the compound in Kotal-e-Rawza area in the city of Ghazni at around 7:45 pm, but all attackers were killed before entering, said the Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian on Saturday night. 

The source said that the wounded have been taken to Kabul by helicopter for treatment and three are “in critical condition.” 

“The insurgents were using a Humvee vehicle for the explosion,” the source added. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. 

This comes amid efforts by the Afghan government to complete the release of Taliban prisoners and start the intra-Afghan negotiations.  

Loya Jirga 

On Saturday, some delegates of the Loya Jirga, the grand assembly, said that decisions of past jirgas have not been implemented, but the decisions from this jirga should be. 

Also, the nation's achievements should be maintained in the peace process, said delegates. They said that last year’s Jirga asked for a ceasefire, but it was not implemented. 

A conditional release of almost 400 Taliban prisoners was one of the key demands of the jirga delegates.  

The delegates are discussing the release of the prisoners and consulting with Afghanistan’s negotiation team about expectations of the team in the intra-Afghan talks.  

According to a letter handed to all the Jirga delegates, on the topic of the prisoner release they have been given two options: the talks might begin if they agree on the release of the prisoners, or violence might continue if the prisoners are not released.  

The 50 committees have been discussing the topic of the prisoners for the last two days, according to Jirga officials.