Taliban attack near Spanish embassy in Kabul kills 6

Afghan policemen arrive at the site of a Taliban attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan December 11, 2015.

Taliban militants killed six people, including two foreigners, in the siege of a Spanish embassy guesthouse that began Friday night and lasted into early Saturday morning, an Afghan police official said.

Spain announced on Saturday the death of a second Spanish policeman in the attack, which also killed four members of the Afghan police, one Afghan civilian and four Taliban fighters.

Eleven Taliban suicide attackers on Tuesday breached the high-security Kandahar air field, which also houses a joint NATO-Afghan base, taking women and children hostage and triggering pitched firefights with soldiers.

At least twelve people were killed and seven injured after a Taliban suicide bomber struck a guest-house of the Spanish embassy here on Friday. They were released unharmed “after an intervention by Afghan and United States special forces units that lasted several hours”, the statement said.

Both the Spanish and Afghan governments confirmed Saturday that, despite earlier reports, the so-called “guest house” near the Spanish embassy that had been targeted in the attack was really a compound housing Spanish diplomatic personnel in Kabul. After the smoke was cleared I found all the windows of my house were shattered by the blast.

Security forces with armoured vehicles were deployed around the scene, with at least three insurgents involved in the attack, according to one police official. During the gun battle, three attackers entered the embassy compound while staff hid in two bunkers.

Hours prior to the attacks, Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani stated hopefulness about the peace talks with the Taliban.

The head of the intelligence services, who strongly opposed Ghani’s bid to involve Pakistan in the peace process, resigned on Thursday, highlighting divisions in the national security apparatus.

Mr Ghani said in a statement that he accepted general Nabil’s resignation and would replace him with someone from within NDS.

“The mujahideen are making rapid military gains, capturing territory and destroying enemy centers”, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter.