At least six people have been killed and around 50 wounded after a suicide car bomber and Taliban gunmen attacked an office of the Afghan intelligence agency.

The assault happened in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Saturday morning.

The death toll is expected to rise.

Ahmad Shah, who lives close by, described how he was asleep when the attack happened: “It was early morning and we were sleeping at home, a strong explosion happened, followed by firing. When I came out of my room I was covered with dust, my kids and I got injured from broken windows.”

Heavy fighting continued between the Taliban and Afghan security forces for several hours afterwards.

Afghan forces have been struggling to fight large numbers of insurgent fighters around the capital Kabul in recent weeks.

The incident comes as rival presidential candidates have been unable to resolve a dispute over an election and most foreign troops are due to leave by the end of the year.