Taliban storms & attacks U.S. Embassy in Kabul

A complicated attack involving multiple gunmen and apparent suicide bombers was underway in the heart of the Afghan capital Tuesday morning, and it appeared to be focused near the U.S. Embassy.

CBS News staff in Kabul reported hearing heavy gunfire and at least seven explosions, some of them large. The situation was described as "chaotic", and Reuters news agency said at least four people were wounded.

A Taliban spokesman claimed there were several militants inside at least one building near the embassy district in Kabul, and that the targets of the attack were Afghan government ministries and the intelligence services.

Mohammed Zahir, a police official in Kabul, told the Associated Press that a group of gunmen were firing from a tall office building under construction near the U.S. Embassy.
CBS News' Fazul Rahim reports that sirens could be heard wailing from the U.S. Embassy compound, and there were announcements carried over loudspeakers warning people to remain indoors.
A source inside the U.S. Embassy tells Rahim at least 3 rockets have hit inside the compound, but there have been no known injuries.
A high ranking police official tells Rahim that five attackers armed with RPGs and machine guns - all of them wearing suicide vests - entered the building under construction and were positioned on the 10 floor.

The Taliban's primary website ran a statement Tuesday morning saying "Operation Martyrdom" was underway in the Afghan capital.

Many attacks by the Taliban on the Afghan capital in recent months and years have followed a similar pattern; multiple attackers armed with automatic weapons and suicide vests attacking government targets.