A string of attacks by Taliban fighters in the Afghan capital of Kabul that have targeted the United States Embassy, Nato headquarters and government buildings, have left at least six people dead and 16 injured, reports have said.
Afghan police battled the co-ordinated series of attacks, which began at around 13:00 local time when men armed with rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47s and suicide vests took up positions near the embassy district in Kabul, Reuters said, citing a Taliban spokesperson.
A suicide attack in the west of the capital reportedly killed a policeman and injured two others. It has been reported that another policeman and three civilians were killed in separate attacks.
Up to five explosions were heard close to the US embassy but there were no reported injuries among US personnel. Nato's International Security Assistance Force headquarters was also attacked (see video posted above).
The BBC reported that that five gunmen were holed up in a building in the centre of the city, and appeared to be directing the attacks while conducting an armed stand-off with police.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attacks: "Today at 13:00 (08:30 GMT) at Kabul's Abdul Haq roundabout a massive suicide attack on local and foreign intelligence facilities is ongoing," a spokesman for the group said.
However Nato's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen condemned the violence and said it would be a test of the Afghan authorities.
"We have confidence in the Afghan authorities' ability to deal with this situation," Rasmussen told the BBC. "Transition is on track and it will continue."
The attack comes weeks after suicide attackers stormed the city's British Council office, killing 12 people, and days after the ten-year anniversary marking the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, which sparked the US-led operation in Afghanistan.
Most international troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by 2015, pending the successful handover to Afghan security forces.