Taliban attacks NATO hq., U.S. embassy in Kabul

Taliban gunmen with suicide bombs and heavy weaponry launched coordinated attacks in Kabul on Tuesday targeting NATO's headquarters and the United States embassy, killing at least six people.

Around five hours after the attack began, gun battles still raged. The Afghan government confirmed the deaths of four civilians and two policemen, plus six insurgents, with at least two militants still resisting after dusk.

Afghan officials said the attackers were hunkered down in a multi-storey building under construction that overlooked the NATO office and the U.S. embassy, exchanging fire with security forces as helicopters flew overhead.

Elsewhere, two suicide attackers targeted the police in heavily protected parts of the capital.