Taliban's 'spring offensive' continues in Afghanistan

Kabul, April 16 (IANS) Fighting was on Monday morning in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul where Taliban militants have staged a wave of coordinated gun and rocket attacks, the BBC reported.

On Sunday, the Taliban launched a wave of assaults in Kabul and elsewhere in the country, targetting the embassies of the US and Germany, the Afghanistan parliament, the NATO headquarters and an airbase used by the American troops.

It was the first major attack on Afghan capital in more than six months. The heavily guarded area of Kabul, where the attacks have been carried out, is frequented by foreigners and is rarely the scene of violence. The attackers also struck in Afghan provinces of Logar, Paktia and Nangarhar.

According to police, at least 11 police officers and five civilians were wounded in Kabul while four insurgents were killed.

The Taliban said Sunday's attacks marked the start of a "spring offensive". Their "fighting season" tends to begin when the warmer weather melts snow in mountain passes along the border with Pakistan, allowing fighters to cross into Afghanistan.

At least 17 Afghan police officers and nine civilians were injured, the Afghan interior ministry said.

The last attack on Kabul of this scale was witnessed in September 2011 when heavily armed insurgents took over an unfinished high-rise building and opened fire on the US embassy and NATO headquarters. That attack had left 14 Afghans dead.