Kabul fighting ends with explosions, heavy gunfire

KABUL - Heavy street fighting between militants and security forces in the center of the Afghan capital Kabul ended on Monday after 18 hours of intense gunfire, rocket attacks and explosions, police and government officials said.

Battles which broke out at mid-day on Sunday gripped the capital's central districts through the night, with explosions and gunfire lighting up alleys and surrounding streets.

"The latest information we have about the Afghan Parliament area is that the attack is over now and the only insurgent who was resisting has been killed," said the Kabul police chief's spokesman Hashmatullah Stanikzai.

The fighting at the parliament in the west of the city was the only pocket where militants were still resisting security forces. Earlier, at daybreak, security forces flushed out militants holed up near embassies in the heavily guarded diplomatic area.

NATO helicopters had launched strafing attack runs on gunmen hiding in a construction site overlooking the NATO headquarters and several embassies, including the British and German missions.

Elite soldiers scaled scaffolding to outflank the insurgents, who appeared to have dug them themselves in on the second floor from the top of the construction site. Bullets ricocheted off walls, sending up clouds of brick dust.

"I could not sleep because of all this gunfire now. It's been the whole night," said local resident Hamdullah.

The assault by the insurgents, which began with attacks on embassies, a supermarket, a hotel and the parliament, is one of the most serious on the capital since US-backed Afghan forces removed the Taliban from power in 2001.

The Taliban said in a statement that heavy gunbattles were continuing in Logar province.