Attack on British Council compound in Kabul kills three

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Quentin Sommerville: "A British military reaction force is on the scene"

Suicide attackers have stormed the British Council office in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, killing at least three people.

After at least three explosions, half-a-dozen men forced their way into the compound, with the Taliban saying they carried out the attack.

A BBC correspondent says the attack is continuing and gunfire can be heard.

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."

Wall collapsed

The first blast went off at 05:38 (01:08 GMT) in western Kabul, with a second 10 minutes later, Afghan police said.

"We believe there are eight to nine suicide attackers hiding inside the British Council building," police sources told the BBC.

They said the attackers had heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades.

"They have brought enough weapons to fight for a day.''

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

British forces later arrived at the scene with Afghan police providing support, Kabul officials told the BBC.

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

The British Council is government-funded agency which runs mainly cultural programmes.

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

However, the Taliban have recently shown that they can strike pretty much anywhere in Afghanistan, the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul reports.

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