Heavy firing erupts in Afghan city
Taliban militants attacked government buildings in the south-eastern Afghan city of Khost today with suicide bombers, AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, officials said.
At least three suicide bombers blew themselves up during the attack, which began in the early afternoon and was ongoing, Defence Minister spokesman General Mohammed Zahir Azimi said.
Gen Azimi said Afghan forces had surrounded the attackers and were firing on them.
Provincial council member Tajaly Khan Saber said that it was impossible to determine casualties because residents could not move about in the streets of Khost, site of a major US military base, about 95 miles south of Kabul. It was not clear if US troops were involved in the fighting.
Last May, 11 Taliban suicide bombers struck government buildings in Khost, killing 20 people and wounding three Americans.
On Tuesday, suspected Taliban militants armed with bombs, rifles and rocket-propelled grenades launched near-simultaneous assaults in Gardez, about 50 miles north-west of Khost, and in the eastern city of Jalalabad.
Six Afghan police and intelligence officers and eight militants died in the two attacks.
