Blast hits UK compound in Kabul

After at least three explosions, a number of heavily armed men forced their way into the compound.

Gunfire can still be heard in the area, which was rocked by another explosion several hours after the attack began.

The Taliban said the attack marked the anniversary of Afghanistan's independence from the UK in 1919.

A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman later said: "We can confirm there was an attack against a British Council compound in Afghanistan.

"The embassy is co-ordinating with the Afghan authorities, who are dealing with the incident."

It was a three-phase attack, intelligence sources have told a BBC correspondent in Kabul: First, a suicide attacker detonated his explosive vest at a main square in western Kabul where police were guarding a key intersection shortly after 05:30 (01:30 GMT).

Ten minutes later, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the front gate of the British Council, adds our correspondent.

As the area was evacuated, local shopkeepers say as many as nine suicide attackers armed with rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and AK 47s started firing as they ran towards the British Council building.

They have exchanged fire with police for hours and sporadic gunfire can still be heard in the area, residents say.

It was not immediately clear whether the militants managed to enter the building itself after forcing their way into the compound.

One of the walls of the compound collapsed after the blasts, and there are fears that a number of Afghan policemen may be buried in the rubble.

The Afghan authorities earlier stepped up security in the capital, amid fears an attack could be imminent on the public holiday.