Heavily armed Taliban militants took over a building in Kabul's diplomatic district Tuesday and fired rockets at the U.S. Embassy, NATO's International Security Assistance Force's (ISAF) headquarters and other embassies. The attack coincided with suicide bombings in other parts of the capital.
The attack in Char Rahi Abdul Haq area has killed four policemen and two civilians with 18 others getting wounded. No staff in the U.S. embassy was hurt.
Three of five Taliban fighters in the building were killed by Afghan security forces during a gun battle. NATO provided ground and air support to Afghan forces.
In western Kabul, suicide bombers attacked a police building and school. One policemen was killed and two were wounded in the bombings.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks and suicide bombings. Reuters quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid that the primary targets of the attackers are the intelligence agency building and a ministry.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters in Washington that Americans in Kabul will be secured and the Taliban attackers will be dealt with, according to Al Jazeera.
The attacks came two days after Taliban militants detonated a truck bomb near a military base in central Afghanistan that killed four Afghan civilians and wounded nearly 80 U.S. soldiers. The bombing coincided with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.