Taliban fighters attack Kabul airport

PanARMENIAN.Net - Taliban fighters armed with guns and explosives clashed with security forces after taking over a building near the airport in the Afghan capital on Monday, June 10, according to CNN.

The militant group said the attack was intended to target Americans in Kabul International Airport, one part of which is used by military forces and another by civilians.

The assault on the five-story building, which is under construction, began with a large explosion, said Kabul police official Hashtmat Stanikzai.

At least five attackers then stormed into the structure and exchanged fire with security forces, he said, adding that the confrontation is ongoing.

Three of the militants have been killed in the fighting, including one who was firing rocket-propelled grenades, said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for Afghan interior ministry.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said it was under lock down following the attack but had "no operational information" about what was happening.

Several explosions, gunfire and sirens rang out in Kabul early Monday as the firefight unfolded. Helicopters flew overhead in the direction of the airport.

Insurgents have carried out frequent attacks on security forces across Afghanistan in recent months amid a spring offensive by the Taliban.

Last month, a suicide car bombing on a coalition convoy in central Kabul killed at least 12 people, six of them American and six Afghan.

The insurgent group Hezb-e Islami claimed responsibility for that attack. The group is not under the Taliban leadership, but operates alongside them.