AT least two guards were killed when terrorists stormed a police station in the Afghan capital Kabul.

The station at the centre of the attack, Shamshad TV, reported that one attacker blew himself up at the gate. Another went inside and shot at staff before going on to roof to fire on security forces.

Afghan security forces ended the raid after two hours and the station resumed broadcasting. The gunman also died. More than 20 people were injured in the attack, which was immediately claimed by Daesh.

Speaking from a hospital where some of his wounded colleagues were being treated, the station’s news director, Abid Ehsas, told rival Tolo News: “This is an attack on the freedom of the media but they cannot silence us.

Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said one of the guards killed was male and the other female. He added that police rescued some of the TV staff as the attack was unfolding.

The Daesh-linked Aamaq news outlet claimed responsibility.

Afghanistan’s Daesh affiliate has carried out several attacks in recent years, mainly targeting the country’s Shiite minority.

The affiliate is largely made up of disenchanted insurgents who left the much larger and more well-established Taliban.

A Daesh suicide bomber struck near the US embassy in Kabul last week, killing five and wounding at least 20 in an area that is heavily guarded.