At least 20 killed, 50 injured in attack on Afghan VP candidate's Kabul office

At least 20 people were killed and 50 injured in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Sunday in a suicide bombing and gun battle at vice-presidential candidate Amrullah Saleh's office, the government said in a statement on Monday.

Saleh, a running mate of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, was slightly injured in the attack.

Afghan forces killed three militants who entered Saleh's four-story office after a suicide bomber blew himself up during rush hour, said the interior ministry.

More than 150 civilians were rescued during the six-hour-long operation, said interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack that came only hours after Ghani and Saleh, along with more than a dozen Afghan politicians, launched their two-month-long election campaign.

Presidential polls are expected to be held on Sept. 28 but the security situation has been deteriorating across the country with the Taliban and Daesh terrorists mounting a near-daily attack on Afghan forces, government employees and civilians.