Gunmen attack US embassy,NATO in Kabul

Taliban men fire rocket-propelled grenades; no casualties at embassy,says US.

Taliban insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades,heavy machine guns and assault rifles at the US embassy,NATO headquarters and other buildings in the heart of the capital on Tuesday while suicide bombers struck police buildings in an attack blitz that displayed the ability of militants to bring their fight to the doorsteps of Western power in Afghanistan.

The coordinated assaults,coming two days after the US marked the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks,carried an unsettling message to Western leaders and their Afghan allies about the resilience and reach of the Taliban network.

The US embassy and NATO both said no staff were wounded. Afghan officials said the violence around Kabul resulted in the deaths of four police officers and two civilians. Another 12 people were wounded.

In Washington,Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US will do everything it can to combat those who committed the cowardly attack.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and said that it would not deter Afghan security forces from taking full responsibility for the countrys security by 2014.

Gunfire and explosions resounded across Kabul well into the afternoon. At least two insurgents were still on the top floors of a nine-storey building by late evening,police said.

Earlier,plumes of smoke rose from the area near the embassy,and US Army helicopters buzzed overhead. The US Embassy is on the edge of the Wazir Akbar Khan area,which is home to a number of other foreign missions.

Story continues below this ad

Gunmen fired from the nine-storey office building that is under construction at Abdul Haq square,about 300 yards from the US embassy. Afghan official said the attack began when about half a dozen insurgents took over the building and began firing toward the embassy.

The Kabul police said at least seven insurgents were involved in the attacks around the city. Four were involved in the attack from the building and three attempted to carry out suicide attacks.

All three suicide attackers were killed by the police: one on the road leading from Kabul to the airport,and two when they tried to attack Afghan police buildings in western Kabul.