Taliban militants killed four people at an election office in Kabul on Tuesday morning, CNN reported.
The victims included two police officers, a provincial council candidate, and a civilian, according to Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry.
Sediqqi also said all five militants -- who engaged in a five-hour battle with Afghan security forces -- were killed as well. Two of them blew themselves up as they entered the election commission office while the other three carried out the rest of the attack.
"The attackers would have killed a lot of innocent people as there were 70 people working in that building if the Afghan security forces hadn't engaged them in the armed fight from outside," Sediqqi added.
According to CNN, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. In an email, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the attackers were able to enter the building after launching explosions at the entrance.
The Taliban has vowed to carry out violent attacks throughout Afghanistan as the presidential election nears, calling the election illegitimate and a U.S. conspiracy. Last week, they attacked the upscale Serena Hotel, killing nine people and injuring six others.
Among those killed in the hotel attack were Sardar Ahmad, a reporter for the Agence France-Presse, his wife, and two of his three children.
At least 8,000 civilians were killed or injured in armed conflicts in 2013 -- a 14 percent increase from 2012 -- according to a report from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
