Embassy says no staff injured in attack

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - UPDATE: The U.S. Embassy in Kabul has confirmed an attack by insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades and small arms but says no personnel have been reported injured.

Embassy spokeswoman Kerri Hannan says staff had been ordered to take cover in hardened structures as gunfire and explosions rocked the area in the heart of the Afghan capital on Tuesday.

She says "there are no casualties at this time among embassy personnel."

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Insurgents fired rockets and assault rifles in the direction of the U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other official buildings Tuesday as gunfire and explosions rocked the heart of the Afghan capital. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The surge of violence was a stark reminder of the instability that continues to plague Afghanistan nearly a decade after the U.S. invasion that ousted the Taliban in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.

Police said the gunmen were firing from a tall office building that is under construction at Kabul's Abdul Haq square, which is about 300 yards (meters) from the U.S. Embassy. American officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The American Embassy is on the edge of the Wazir Akbar Khan area, and gunfire and explosions rocked the area, which is home to a number of other foreign missions.

At least one rocket landed on a building housing privately owned Tolo TV and another near a minivan carrying school children. At least four Afghans were wounded, according to Associated Press reporters on the scene.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said a number of suicide bombers were attacking Afghan and foreign soldiers at the square. He claimed in a text message that suicide bombers using assault rifles were attacking the offices of the Afghan intelligence service.