Afghan Crisis Response Unit (CRU) personnel stand guard at the site of bomb attack on the Spanish embassy compound in Kabul. Photo / Getty Images
At least four Afghan policemen and one Spaniard have been killed in an hours-long Taliban siege near the Spanish embassy in Kabul, in the latest high-profile insurgent attack.
Multiple blasts and gunfire rocked Kabul's diplomatic quarter after the brazen raid began on Friday evening, just hours after President Ashraf Ghani
voiced optimism that a peace process with the Taliban would resume within weeks.
"Afghan special forces have killed four attackers who were involved in the terrorist attack in Kabul," said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.
The government in Madrid had earlier confirmed that a Spanish policeman was also killed in the assault, which began when a huge car bomb was detonated during rush hour on Friday evening.
The powerful blast, which sent a thick plume of smoke into the sky, was followed by multiple explosions through the night, along with sporadic bursts of gunfire.
