Taliban launch raids on Kabul and other Afghan targets
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The BBC's Bilal Sawary says he can hear gunfire from his location in Kabul
Militants are carrying out what they say are co-ordinated attacks on Kabul and other targets in Afghanistan.
A Taliban spokesman said fighters were attacking embassies in the diplomatic enclave, Nato's HQ and the parliament building in the west of the capital.
Multiple blasts and gunfire have been heard across Kabul.
The Taliban spokesman said there were also attacks in Logar and Paktia provinces. There are also reports of suicide attacks in Jalalabad.
Nato said it had reports of attacks in seven locations in Kabul but there were no reports as yet of any casualties.
The British embassy was one of the targets, with two rockets hitting a guard tower. A rocket-propelled grenade was also fired into a house used by British diplomats, witnesses told Reuters.
Smoke billowingAt least seven large explosions were heard in central Kabul and gunfire erupted from various directions in the heavily barricaded diplomatic zone.
Continue reading the main storyAt the scene
Insurgents are fighting government forces in seven different locations in Kabul. The diplomatic quarter - home to the British and US embassies as well as Nato's headquarters - has seen multiple explosions, thought to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades.
It appears that insurgents have taken over a building under construction from where there has been sustained gunfire. No casualties have been reported.
Afghan security forces are also dealing with an attack near to the national parliament and at an international logistics warehouse in the east of the city.
The Taliban have said they are behind the attacks. Last week they warned that a new offensive would start soon. The last major attack in Kabul was last September when insurgents attacked.
Residents were reportedly running for cover and sirens wailing in the Wazir Akbar Khan district.
Some explosions were also heard near the parliament building in western Kabul and police said it was under attack.
Reuters said a number of MPs had joined the fight against insurgents, quoting Kandahar lawmaker Naeem Hameedzai Lalai as saying: "I'm the representative of my people and I have to defend them."
Rockets were reportedly fired at the Russian embassy and smoke was said to be billowing from the direction of the German embassy.
The US embassy confirmed there were attacks nearby. It said: "The embassy is currently in lockdown... all compound personnel are accounted for and safe."
Britain's Foreign Office said it was "in close contact with embassy staff".
The Agence France-Presse news agency reported that the newly built Kabul Star hotel was on fire.
Kabul resident Idris Ghairat, who lives near the hotel, told the BBC: "I can see the smoke rising. The fighting is around us and I have heard the blasts and gunfire. The security forces have taken position on top of all government buildings close to the hotel."
Another attack appeared to target a Nato base known as Camp Warehouse on the outskirts of the city, where Turkish and Greek Nato forces were trying to repel militants.
Provinces targetedContinue reading the main story“Start Quote
End Quote Mirwais Yasini MP from province of NingarharWhere was the intelligence to prevent co-ordinated attacks?”
The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says there are also reports of a suicide attack that has closed the centre of the eastern city of Jalalabad.
Police said suicide bombers had attacked the airport there.
Abdulhadi, who works for the World Food Programme in Jalalabad, told the BBC: "The US air base was under attack. We heard loud explosions and had to take cover in a bunker."
Militants also took over a government building in Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province, police said, and a gun battle was under way.
A gun battle was also taking place in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, where militants had taken over another building.
Mirwais Yasini, an MP from the eastern province of Ningarhar, told BBC News: ''This shows the Taliban don't want peace.
"They don't want to negotiate. They are not serious. They want to continue the killing of innocent people. But these attacks also show a clear intelligence failure. Where was the intelligence to prevent co-ordinated attacks?''
There is normally a surge in the number of Taliban attacks at this time of year following a relative lull in winter, when militants find it more difficult to move around.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Taliban launch raids on Kabul and other Afghan targets
via bbc.co.uk
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