Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Armed insurgents killed nine people during a raid on a bank in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, and at least three militants were killed, officials said.
The attackers stormed a branch of the Kabul Bank in Jalalabad, the provincial capital of Nangarhar, said Ahmadzia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
The head of the province's public health department, Baz Mohammad Sherzad, confirmed the nine deaths, and Abdulzai said three insurgents were killed and as many as 70 people were wounded.
The NATO command in Afghanistan said reports indicated that it might have been a suicide attack. It issued a statement saying three people apparently entered the bank wearing suicide vests and detonated themselves.
But Abdulzai couldn't confirm a suicide strike but said there were many casualties because of explosions in the building.
Fighting between insurgents and security forces lasted for more than four hours, Abdulzai said. An eyewitness said some civilians were taken hostage. CNN
