At least 40 wounded in car bomb in Afghanistan's Samangan

At least 40 people were wounded by a car bomb in the Afghan city of Aybak on Monday.

Gunmen clashed with Afghan forces after the bomb detonated outside the National Security Directorate, the country's main intelligence agency in the northern Samangan region.

A spokesman for the provincial government, Mohammad Sediq Azizi, confirmed the attack. He said a number of people were engaged in fighting with Afghan forces.

"Clashes with the attackers are still going on," Mr Azizi told reporters.

It was not clear what the target of the attack was or who was behind it.

The province's health director, Khalil Musadeq, said 43 civilians and members of the security forces had been wounded in the attack. But that number is expected to rise and there could even be deaths.

Violence in Afghanistan has increased even as the United States tries to lead the government and the Taliban towards peace talks to end more than 18 years of war.