Seven Taliban suicide attackers stormed a police station in the center of Jalalabad city in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 10 policemen in a major assault ahead of the presidential election.

The target of the three-hour truck bomb and gun assault was a police station near the governor's house in the city, which has been the scene of repeated militant attacks in recent years.

The Taliban have vowed a campaign of violence to disrupt the election on April 5, and a spokesman for the insurgents claimed responsibility for the early-morning suicide strike which also left a civilian dead.

"Ten policemen, including the district police chief, were killed and 14 police were wounded," deputy interior minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi told AFP. "One civilian was also killed, and all seven attackers."

Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the interior ministry, said one or two attackers had holed up in a small room inside the police station before they were finally killed by security forces.

The attack began when a mini-truck loaded with explosives was detonated at the police station's entrance, leaving debris littered across the surrounding streets as security forces cordoned off the scene.

About 20 people had been treated for injuries at the city's main hospital.

Ten days ago Taliban leaders vowed to target the presidential election, urging their fighters to attack polling staff, voters and security forces before the vote.

On Tuesday a suicide bomber killed 16 people at a market in the northern province of Faryab.

AFP