3rd LD Writethru: 3 killed, 11 injured as Taliban launches group attack in Kabul

About three attackers were killed while 11 people were wounded after Taliban launched a complex attack in Afghan capital of Kabul overnight, triggering a 10-hour gunfight, police said on Tuesday.

The attack occurred at around 8:00 p.m. (1530 GMT) when the militants attacked the house of Nahim Baluch, former governor of Helmand province along Dar-ul-Aman road in western Kabul.

"One militant was killed after he detonated a car bomb in front of the targeted house. Two militants seized control of a nearby empty building and clashed with security forces. The fighting ended after the security forces eliminated the militants at wee hours of Tuesday," a police source told Xinhua.

Two civilians and two policemen were wounded by the blast while seven members of Crisis Respond Unit (CRU) personnel of Afghan police force were wounded during the gunfight, the source added.

"Baluch had served as deputy director of the national intelligence agency in the past, and his family were safe and sound," he said.

"The injured did not receive life-threatening wounds. The CRU personnel evacuated residents following the attack to avoid civilian casualties," Kabul police chief General Abdul Rahman Rahimi told reporters near the site on Tuesday.

The attack also damaged several nearby houses.

The Taliban militant group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, told local media that an insurgent's suicide squad has targeted a key spy agency center in western Kabul, killing and injuring several personnel of the body.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since mid-April when the militant group launched a yearly rebel offensive against Afghan security forces.

The Taliban urged civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers, besides warning people not to support the government. Endi