Taliban militants attacked the main Afghan election commission's headquarters Saturday in Kabul, opening fire on the compound with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns from a house outside its perimeter wall, according to police, Reuters reported.
It's the latest in a series of high-profile attacks that come as the Islamic militant movement steps up a campaign of violence to disrupt presidential elections, which are due to be held in a week, according to Reuters.
A spokesman for the Independent Election Commission said security already had been increased around the compound because an attack had been widely expected, and no casualties have been reported, Reuters reported.
Explosions were heard when the attack started, according to the spokesman Noor Mohammed Noor, but he did not know what caused them, according to Reuters.
Kabul police chief Mohammad Zahir Zahir said three or four attackers were holed up in a neighboring house that had been empty when they occupied it, Reuters reported. He said police were firing at the building from several directions and had the attackers contained.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack but described what would have been a much more ambitious assault, claiming a suicide bomber and gunmen had stormed the IEC compound, according to Reuters.
He said there was a meeting between the IEC and election observers, including foreigners, at the time of the attack, Reuters reported. The Taliban frequently exaggerate in their statements and a meeting could not immediately be confirmed.
On Tuesday, the Taliban also struck another IEC office on the edge of Kabul when a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle outside while two gunmen stormed into the building, killing four people and trapping dozens of employees inside, according to Reuters.
The Taliban also have stepped up attacks on foreigners in the Afghan capital, suggesting that they are also shifting tactics to focus on civilian targets that aren't as heavily protected as military and government installations, Reuters reported.
The Taliban targeted an American charity, the Roots of Peace, and a nearby day care center late Friday in the Afghan capital, sending foreigners, including women and children, fleeing while Afghan security forces battled the gunmen, according to Reuters. Officials said two Afghan bystanders, a girl and a driver, were killed.
