KABUL, April 2 (RIA Novosti) - The Afghan Interior Ministry said 12 people were killed and another 16 injured as four suicide bombers targeted a provincial council building in the southern province of Kandahar.

The coordinated attack occurred on Wednesday, when a terrorist drove a vehicle into the gates of the government building before blowing himself and the car up.

Having created a diversion, three men wearing explosive belts and carrying AK-47 assault rifles stormed the building.

The police opened fire on the assailants, killing two, while the third managed to set off the explosives.

The ministry said the province's education chief and a local deputy health chief were among those killed.

Earlier reports said eight people had been killed and at least seven wounded.

The attack is the latest in an apparent campaign targeting government offices. On Monday, a suicide bomber blew himself up near an administrative building in the Dun district, some 15 km (10 miles) south of the city of Kandahar, killing five police officers and three civilians.