A Taliban attack on a government security compound in central Afghanistan on Sunday killed at least 14 persons and wounded more than 180, including scores of children, hours before a meeting in Qatar aimed at preparing the ground for peace talks.

Health officials in Ghazni said 13 adults, including eight NDS members, and a child were killed. At least 60 children who were attending classes in a private school situated near the blast site were among the 180 persons hurt.

The Taliban, who have repeatedly refused to negotiate with the Western-backed government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, agreed to join the intra-Afghan summit on the condition that those there would attend in a personal capacity.

Islamist Taliban fighters detonated a car bomb in Ghazni city near an office of Afghanistan’s main intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security , during Sunday morning’s rush hour, officials said.

The attack took place as Taliban officials and a selected group of Afghan activists and civil society figures prepared to meet in Doha, casting a pall over talks intended to open the way for full peace negotiations in the future.

About 60 high-profile Afghan figures and activists were in Doha to meet the Taliban officials during the two-day conference, a meeting arranged by German and Qatari officials with the support of US negotiators.

The intra-Afghan talks follow the start of a seventh round of peace talks between US and Taliban negotiators in Doha last week, which Khalilzad described as the most productive session to date.