A series of explosions followed by sustained gunfire have shaken the Afghan capital Kabul in what appears to be a co-ordinated attack on two areas frequented by Afghan government officials and their international allies.

The first blasts struck the Wazir Akbar Khan area of central Kabul, home to a number of embassies and a Nato base. Gunfire broke out soon after, forcing people into the street to take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings as sirens wailed. Heavy gunfire continued more than 30 minutes after the initial explosion.

Reuters is reporting that attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a house used by British diplomats in the centre of Kabul. There was no word on any casualties.

The Taliban said they and other militant groups were behind a coordinated assault in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday which included attacks on the British and German embassies in the heavily guarded, central diplomatic district. The Taliban also said they were carrying out attacks in several Afghan provinces. We'll bring you full coverage as the situation develops.

A series of explosions followed by sustained gunfire have shaken the Afghan capital Kabul in what appears to be a co-ordinated attack on two areas frequented by Afghan government officials and their international allies.

The first blasts struck the Wazir Akbar Khan area of central Kabul, home to a number of embassies and a Nato base. Gunfire broke out soon after, forcing people into the street to take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings as sirens wailed. Heavy gunfire continued more than 30 minutes after the initial explosion.

Reuters is reporting that attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a house used by British diplomats in the centre of Kabul. There was no word on any casualties.

The Taliban said they and other militant groups were behind a coordinated assault in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday which included attacks on the British and German embassies in the heavily guarded, central diplomatic district. The Taliban also said they were carrying out attacks in several Afghan provinces. We'll bring you full coverage as the situation develops.

Just spoken to the FCO. They will not confirm that there has been a hit on British diplomatic residence. A spokeswoman said:

"We can confirm that there in an ongoing incident in the diplomatic area of Kabul. We are in close contact with Embassy staff."

Dispatch from our Kabul correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison just in. She describes the chaos currently unfolding in the diplomatic area of Kabul.

The Taliban fired rockets at the Afghan parliament and into the heart of the capital's diplomatic district as part of an ambitious nationwide "spring assault" on government and foreign military and diplomatic headquarters. Several attackers took over a multi-storey hotel on the edge of Kabul's diplomatic district, and used it to attack nearby embassies and foreign military headquarters in the heavily fortified area known locally as the "green zone". Smoke billowed from buildings apparently inside embassy and military compounds, among them a British diplomatic residence, a Reuters' witness reported. An eyewitness saw three bodies in a pickup truck a block away from the attack. In the west of the city insurgents targeted the legislature, and heavy and light machine gunfire echoed through the deserted streets, with students at a nearby university in lockdown.

Aminullah Amini, head of the media department of parliament has told reporters what he saw.

"I saw 7 or 8 rockets fired towards parliament, none of them hit the building, they landed on the streets around. One was near a man on a bike, and he was thrown to the ground and didn't move," he said. "I ran away from the building with several colleagues when the attack started, but many members of parliament are still inside," Amini added.

Emma Graham-Harrison tells us the attacks are widespread.

Insurgents also attacked the provincial governor's headquarters and the Nato military base in Logar province south of Kabul. In eastern Jalalabad city the airport, also a Nato military base, was targeted by suicide bombers. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks, the first major assault of the year. An Interior Ministry employee with security clearance in February shot dead two Nato advisers working there. "A big number of soldiers went to do a spring season operation, that started today in Kabul. The headquarters of ISAF, the NDS office, and the British embassy are under attack," spokesman Zabihullah Mujuahid said. "They have suicide vests, heavy weapons like RPG, and hand grenades and assault rifles." A spokesman for the Nato-led coalition said Afghan and foreign forces were responding to attacks in several locations around Kabul but declined further comment.

The Associated Press are reporting that Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid has sent them a text message claiming responsibility for the ongoing assault in Kabul.

They report:

He said a group of armed suicide bombers launched an attack on the NATO forces headquarters, the parliament building across town and a number of diplomatic residences in Kabul. Last week, Mujahid said in a statement that Taliban planners were preparing to launch a spring offensive. In a statement posted on a Taliban website on Thursday, he said NATO officials should have patience, because Taliban commanders would wait for the "appropriate time" to launch attacks.

Amie Ferris-Rotman, a Reuters correspondent in Kabul is tweeting live from the scene. It seems the surrounding area of her office in Wazir Akbar Khan, where their office is based, is under sustained attack.

More gunfire crackling right near Reuters office in Kabul — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

Second explosion heard right near Reuters office in Kabul — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

Woah. Our entire office just rumbled — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

That's 14 large explosions so far in coordinated attack in Kabul — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

@joelvanhoudt we are sitting at our desks in flaks — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

Fuck. Smoke from two doors down from us, massive explosion #Afghanistan — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

It seems like the whole country is under attack, what a spectacular #Kabulattack#Afghanistan — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

Associated Press reports that the attacks are focused in three diplomatic neighbourhoods in Kabul:

Militants launched a series of coordinated attacks in the Afghan capital Sunday, with blasts and gunfire rocking three neighborhoods that are home to Afghan government buildings, Western embassies and NATO bases. The attacks were the first in the heavily guarded capital since a shooting inside the Interior Ministry in February in which a ministry employee turned a gun on NATO advisers and shot two soldiers dead. More than 10 explosions in all rocked the capital Sunday, and heavy gunfire shook the city for more than an hour after the initial blast. There were no immediate reports of casualties.



Pictures arriving from the scene in Kabul. This shows both the police and army are now on the streets.

Activist, Wazhma Frogh, of the Afghan Women's Network says she has just dogged a bullet

missed a bullet outside health ministry. roads blocked women n kids running on the road. — Wazhma (@FroghWazhma) April 15, 2012

Reuters are reporting that several Afghan lawmakers fought back against Taliban insurgents.

"I'm the representative of my people and I have to defend them," Kandahar lawmaker Naeem Hameedzai Lalai told Reuters.

Afghan MPs say some lawmakers have joined security forces repelling attackers from roof near Afghan parliament #Kabul — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) April 15, 2012

It is not currently known how many people have been killed in today's sustained attacks in Kabil.

Associated Press reports that there are no immediate reports of people killed in the fighting although at least five people have so far been reported wounded.

Reuters are reporting that the Afghan Taliban has said the coordinated attacks are the start of an insurgent spring offensive and had been planned for months.



"These attacks are the beginning of the spring offensive and we had planned them for months," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters.

Amie Ferris-Rotman, a Reuters correspondent in Kabulis tweeting that the attack is continuing.

It seems about every 10 or so minutes there's another snippet of gunfire here in the diplomatic area of Kabul #Afghanistanattack — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012



Here is an image of smoking rising from a tower at the British embassy in Kabul.

Al Jazeera are reporting that Afghan police say they have killed two of the assailants.

Update on ongoing #Kabul attack: police say they have killed two of the assailants as Taliban claim responsibility | aje.me/A2loGq — AJELive (@AJELive) April 15, 2012

Reports coming in a different embassies hit in Kabul.

Channel 4 News are reporting that the British, German embassies and Nato HQ are currently under attack.

Taliban says British, German embassies and Nato HQ under attack in Kabul from multiple insurgents (Reuters) #c4news

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) April 15, 2012

The US embassy confirmed there were attacks nearby. It said:

"The embassy is currently in lockdown... all compound personnel are accounted for and safe."

Steve Herman, Voice of America, Bureau Chief/Correspondent, covering Korean peninsula & Japan reports that the Japanese Embassy was hit by at least 3 mobile rockets.

Kyodo says #Japan Embassy in #Kabul hit by at least 3 mobile rockets as part of widespread attacks underway in Afghan capital. — Steve Herman (@W7VOA) April 15, 2012

CNN are reporting that four suicide bombers also tried to attack Jalalabad airfield where United States troops are based.

One of the attackers blew himself up, while police intercepted the other three, airfield commander Jahan Ngir said.

4 suicide bombers tried to attack Jalalabad, Afghanistan, airfield where U.S. troopsbased, airfield commander says. on.cnn.com/IroTrK — CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) April 15, 2012

There have been reports that nearly 400 prisoners escaped from a jail in northwest Pakistan in the early hours of Sunday morning after it was attacked by militants armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades, according to The News.

Some who fled the jail in the town of Bannu, near unruly ethnic Pashtun tribal areas close to the Afghan border, were militants, an intelligence official said. According to Bannu Jail Superintendent around 500 militants attacked the prison in the wee hours. One inmate who escaped was on death row for involvement in an attempt to assassinate former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a second police official said. Pakistan's al Qaeda-linked Taliban movement, which has close links to al Qaeda, said its fighters mounted the assault, which triggered clashes. Several people were wounded. "We have freed hundreds of our comrades in Bannu in this attack. Several of our people have reached their destinations, others are on their way," a Taliban spokesman said. The claim could not be immediately verified. A police official identified one of the inmates who escaped as a "dangerous prisoner" named Adnan Rasheed who took part in one of the attempts to kill Musharraf. "He was a mastermind in (one of the attacks) on Musharraf. These people came for him and took another 383 people too," the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Here is an lunchtime summary on a eventful day in Afghanistan, where militants are carrying out co-ordinated attacks on Kabul and other targets in the country.

• A Taliban spokesman said fighters have attacked 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.

• There have also been attacks the in Logar and Paktia provinces and reports of suicide attacks in Jalalabad, according to the Taliban.

• 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 has been targetted, with two rockets hitting a guard tower. Witnesses told Reuters that a rocket-propelled grenade was fired into a house used by British diplomats.

Al-Jazeera's Afghanistan correspondent Bernard Smith is at the Kabul Star hotel, one of the places under attack. It appears that after a lull, fighting may have started again.

We heard gunfire then explosions as we were about to leave #Kabul star so everyone ran for basement. Frightening experience. — Bernard Smith (@JazeeraBernard) April 15, 2012

Saw one guy get out of #Kabul star hotel lift with bullet wound to leg. Taliban firing guns and rockets at hotel. — Bernard Smith (@JazeeraBernard) April 15, 2012

More gunfire and explosions from building behind #kabul star. Police say one attacker still alive, one dead. — Bernard Smith (@JazeeraBernard) April 15, 2012

ISAF have tweeted that the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) are still in charge of repelling the attacks in Kabul.

ANSF continues to respond to attacks in #Kabul. ISAF continues to stand by to support, if requested. — ISAF (@ISAFmedia) April 15, 2012

This picture gives some illustration of the Jalalabad attack:

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Reuters is reporting that the Afghan government's interior ministry are saying that Haqqani network are behind the attacks:

The Afghan government's Interior Ministry said on Sunday that initial intelligence on a wave of insurgent attacks across the country pointed to involvement of the militant Haqqani Network. "It's too early to say, but the initial findings show the Haqqanis were involved," Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told Reuters.

BBC reporter and producer Bilal Sarwary has added information on this lead saying that second vice president Karim Khalili was allegedly in the line of fire from militants:



#AFG Senior Afghan intelligence&police officials: Haqqani network was behind attacks in Kabul&provinces.They wanted 2 kill 2VP Khalili — Bilal Sarwary (@bsarwary) April 15, 2012

As reports of fatalities on both sides come in, a gruesome but unconfirmed tweet:

The body of a killed police officer just taken away from the site.... #Kabul #Afghanistan @AhMukhtar — Esmatullah Kohsar (@EsmatKohsar) April 15, 2012

More from Amie Ferris-Rotman in the Reuters office:

God. About 10 grenades just now in diplomatic area of Kabul #Kabulattack — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

Two massive blasts just now in Wazir diplomatic area #Kabulattack — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

ISAF are reporting that Afghan forces (ANSF) have captured two suicide bombers en route:

Confirmed ANSF captured two suicide bombers, stopped them while en route to targets in #Kabul — ISAF (@ISAFmedia) April 15, 2012

The video below is a compilation of shots from across Kabul and other areas of Afghanistan but is as yet unverified:

.

Our own correspondent Jonathan Boone tweets:

Russian military embassy guards join in Kabul fight back. First time a Russian soldier has fired a shot in anger in Afghanistan since 1989? — Jonathan Boone (@Jon_Boone) April 15, 2012

As fighting in Kabul and other cities continues into the evening, here's the top line from Associated Press's latest version of the story:

The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks on as many as seven sites across the Afghan capital on Sunday, targeting NATO bases, the parliament and Western embassies. Militants also launched near-simultaneous assaults in three other eastern cities. At least two attackers were killed and five people wounded in the Kabul, where fighting was still raging hours after it began. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying in a statement that scores of suicide bombers were assaulting the capital and three other provinces Paktia, Nangarhar and Logar.

Hamid Karzai's presidential palace has also been attacked.

This just in from our correspondent Jon Boone who says that this the Taliban's largest coordinated attack on the capital in 11 years:



The attacks all started at around 2pm local time, with gun and rocket attacks on high profile buildings in Kabul, including the British embassy and several other foreign missions, parliament and Afghan government ministries. Simultaneously strikes were launched in the provinces of Logar and Paktia, and on the airport in the critical eastern trading city of Jalalabad. The attacks in Kabul resembled the audacious assault in September last year when gunmen stormed an abandoned, half-built tower from where they fired rockets on to the US Embassy, prompting a 20 hour siege by Afghan special forces. Only this time the scale of the attack in the capital alone was even greater. At least seven sites across the heavily guarded city were attacked, raising worrying questions about the Taliban's apparently undimmed ability to wreak havoc despite intense US efforts to degrade them on the battlefield. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said the attacks proved the movement's strength. "The puppet government and its foreign backers claimed the Taliban would not be able to launch a spring offensive, but today's attacks were the start of our spring offensive." He said. In the south-west of the city gunmen managed to climb a five storey building site from where they fired on the Afghan parliament, the Commerce Ministry and the Russian Embassy. Some members of parliament, which is full of battle hardened former mujahideen commanders who fought a guerrilla campaign against Soviet occupying forces in the 1980s, grabbed weapons and joined parliamentary guards to try and repel the attack... A high profile Afghan MP called Wazhma Frogh who was caught up in the attacks near the British Embassy gave a scathing verdict of the response of police. "I was nearly shot in the back as I was walking down the street, not by a terrorist but by the Afghan police who were just shooting at everything," she said. "They had no idea where they were firing." She said the attacks cast doubt on NATO's "transition" plan that aims to hand over full responsibility for security to the Afghan government by the end of 2014, "This shows just how ridiculous the transition policy is. I've never seen a street battle before, but what I saw today was the fragility of these police officers. It really shows how poor police training has been."

More footage from the Kabul attacks this time from the Afghan based Tolo news agency. The sound gives some indication of the heavy weaponary being used.

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There are some unverified reports that Taliban attackers in the three Eastern cities may have been dressed in burqas.

It is now night time in Kabul and yet as the tweeter below shows, the firing continues. From a series of sources though, it would seem that ANSF have the upper-hand.

Seems like fighting resumes near the parliament, witnesses reporting gunfire and at least one blast likely from an RPG #Afghanistan. KP — Esmatullah Kohsar (@EsmatKohsar) April 15, 2012

To respond to a number of comments below, unless developments take a remarkable turn, this is not a serious (Tet-like) military offensive on a scale that could over-run Kabul.

It is becoming clearer that the overall numbers of Taliban are small, perhaps less than a hundred - but the tactic of using half-built concrete buildings to launch assaults is an effective one and in a city like Kabul which has an awful lot of construction going on, could prove difficult to counter.

Perhaps more worrying is that this is the start of the spring. If there is more to come as the Taliban spokesperson has promised, 2012 could turn out to be a very fateful year for the country.

ISAF has just issued a press release sayinng the Taliban attacks were "largely ineffective". Also noteable is that ISAF have confirmed that they were not called upon to help Afghan forces.

Afghan National Security Forces responded to a series of attacks today in Kabul and in a few outlying provinces. The attacks, which were concentrated in three clusters around the city, were labeled by the Taliban as the start of the so-called "Spring Offensive," and were largely ineffective. The attacks began just before 2 p.m., and consisted primarily of RPG and small arms fire. Afghan Crisis Response Units, along with Afghan police and army forces, deployed to repel the attacks that resulted in light casualties while killing or capturing many of the suicide attackers in a matter of hours. The National Directorate of Security announced they had captured two suicide bombers alive before they were able to reach their intended targets. ISAF quick reaction forces were prepared to respond if required but were not needed.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office have sent us a very short statement:

We can confirm that there is an ongoing incident in the diplomatic area of Kabul. We are in close contact with the Embassy, all staff are accounted for.



Here's a photo from the scene of an attack in the eastern Afghan province of Paktia:

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In a second ISAF statement commander General John R. Allen has praised the "skill and professionalism" of Afghan forces and also confirms that fighting continues:

I am enormously proud of how quickly Afghan security forces responded to today's attacks in Kabul. They were on scene immediately, well-led and well-coordinated. They integrated their efforts, helped protect their fellow citizens and largely kept the insurgents contained. The fighting goes on this evening, and ISAF is standing by to support our Afghan partners when and if they need it. I consider it a testament to their skill and professionalism – of how far they've come – that they haven't yet asked for that support. No one is underestimating the seriousness of today's attacks, and we'll work hard to determine the circumstances that led to today's events. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the violence. But the very fact that the enemy chose these particular targets speaks volumes about where we are in this campaign and the degree to which we have advanced the very things the enemy fears the most – a sovereign Afghanistan responsive to its people and an enduring commitment by the international community. Each attack was meant to send a message: that legitimate governance and Afghan sovereignty are in peril. The ANSF response itself is proof enough of that folly.

A reminder from a Reuters correspondent that the assault is ongoing:

Just when we thought it was over! Large explosions in Kabul diplomatic area — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012

. We're going to continue reporting on this for a while at least but for now, a quick evening roundup of events:

• Taliban fighters have attacked embassies, Nato's HQ, the parliament building and the Presidential compound in Kabul in their largest and most audacious on the city in 11 years. Multiple blasts and gunfire have been heard across the city and the attack continues.

• Members of the Afghan parliament grabbed weapons and joined parliamentary guards to try and repel the fighters.

• Further attacks have been carried out in the Logar and Paktia provinces and reports of suicide attacks in Jalalabad south of Kabul.

• Nato/ISAF has not been pulled into fighting and Taliban fighters are being challenged by Afghan national forces.

• Overall casualty numbers are understood to be minimal.



Good evening I'm Conal Urquhart and I am taking over the blog from Shiv. It's just after 10pm in Kabul but there are still reports of gunfire, explosions and helicopters in the sky. There are unconfirmed reports of 15 police officers

and 4 civilians injured but as there appear to be a large number of Taliban fighters still active in Kabul, the violence is likely to continue through the night.



The Associated Press has been in contact with a spokesman for the Taliban. Zabiullah Mujahid told AP the attacks were a kind of "message" to the Afghan and foreign forces, warning them the insurgents remain strong and resilient.

He said the assaults were the Taliban's response to recent statements by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and NATO spokesman Carsten Jacobson, who claimed the insurgents were weak and that there was no indication they were planning a spring offensive.

"Our mujahedeen fighters are fighting with the Afghan forces in all four provinces," he said by by phone as loud explosions rocked Kabul. "It was well-coordinated and planned for almost two months. It took two months to transfer the weapons and explosives and set up fighters in the specific areas that we planned to attack."



The Ministry of Interior in Kabul is now reporting that one police officer and 17 Taliban fighters have been killed in Kabul, Paktia, Nangarhar and Logar provinces. In Kabul, 11 police officers were injured and a further six elsewhere. Fourteen civilians have also been injured in the attacks.



Ryan Crocker, the American ambassador to Kabul has added to the speculation that the Pakistan-based Haqqani network are responsible for the attacks. He told CNN it was unlikely the Afghan Taliban had the ability to launch Sunday's attacks on its own.

"The Taliban are really good at issuing statements. Less good at actually fighting," he said.

"My guess, based on previous experience here, is this is a set of Haqqani network operations out of north Waziristan and the Pakistani tribal areas. Frankly I don't think the Taliban is good enough."



Reuters has just reported that a spokesman for the Afghan intelligence agency has said that four gunmen from the Haqqani network were arrested before attempting to kill Karim Khalili, the Afghan vice-president. The arrests happened before the the attacks began earlier today.



William Hague, the Foreign secretary has just issued this statement confirming that no injuries were sustained at the British Embassy.

"I strongly condemn today's coordinated attacks against the Afghan parliament, a hotel, an ISAF camp and diplomatic premises in Kabul and other Afghan provinces. The British Embassy was one of the diplomatic premises that was targeted. "I am pleased to report that every member of Embassy staff is safe and that there has been limited damage to Embassy premises. I would also like to praise the staff in the British Embassy, who dealt with this dangerous situation extremely professionally. "The Afghan National Security Forces responded to the attacks bravely, promptly and effectively, once again illustrating the significant progress that has been made in ensuring that Afghans can look after their own security. Britain stands with the government and people of Afghanistan as they work to build a peaceful future."



A nervous night for the residents of central Kabul.

It's after midnight and the gunfire keeps going — Amie Ferris-Rotman (@Amiefr_Reuters) April 15, 2012



There has been some mention of the silence of Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, below the line and in other. There could be logistical and security reasons for his silence but his spokesman was able to get word out.

@Amiefr_Reuters no statement tonight — Aimal Faizi (@AimalFaizi) April 15, 2012



Fighting continues in Kabul but there is unlikely to be any further information until Monday morning so this is a good time to end the blog and say goodnight.