KABUL: Police in Afghanistan said that five people were killed and two injured when gunmen opened fire on a car in the eastern province of Nangahar on Friday.

The attack took place as the car carrying a total of seven civilians was driving through Khogyani district around 6am, said the spokesman for the provincial police, Hazrat Hussain Mashraqiwal.

He said that the attack was carried out by “insurgents”, the term usually used to refer to the Taliban, and that police were investigating.

Nangahar province borders Pakistan, where the leadership of the Taliban insurgency is based.

Khogyani is nestled in the mountains that line the border and has long been a hotbed of insurgent activity.