KABUL -- At least seven Afghan police officers have been killed in a January 28 attack by Taliban militants on a police station in the northern province of Baghlan, officials say.

Several others were reported wounded in the overnight attack on the outskirts of the provincial capital, Pul-e Khumri.

Some reports said as many as 16 police officers died in the attack.

A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the attackers took one hostage.

In September, Taliban attacked Pul-e Khumri in a bid to overrun it, and blocked the city's main highway to the Afghan capital, Kabul, for more than a week.

Taliban fighters control or hold sway over around half of Afghanistan.

The United States and the Taliban have been in talks on ending the 18-year war.

With reporting by dpa, AP, and TOLOnews