Kapul, May 26 (RHC)-- At least 19 police officers and seven soldiers have been killed in an attack by Taliban militants who have surrounded a police compound in an ongoing siege in southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official says.

According to a report by The Associated Press, the raid took place on Monday in the Nawzad district of the province of Helmand. Napas Khan, the police chief in the district who is inside the compound, told the news agency in a phone conversation that the militants are near the site, adding: "We need an immediate response from the government."

The militants have reportedly seized police vehicles and weapons, closing all roads out of Nawzad. The group, which has intensified its attacks as part of its annual spring offensive, has a strong presence in Helmand.

The militants have increased their deadly assaults across Afghanistan since late April despite an operation launched by Afghan government forces in March. Earlier on Monday, 11 people were killed and dozens of others injured in a truck bomb attack and a separate roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan.