Afghanistan election commission headquarters attacked by insurgents

The headquarters of the Afghan election commission in Kabul have been attacked by insurgents, a week before the presidential election, police say.

Gunmen have entered a nearby building and are firing at the election commission with automatic weapons.

The attack comes a week before presidential elections which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt.

It comes a day after a major attack on a building housing foreign aid workers in the Afghan capital.

A police officer quoted by Associated Press news agency says the assailants have not entered the heavily secured compound of the International Election Commission and are based in a house about 500 m away.

The insurgents are attacking the commission headquarters with assault rifles and some heavier weapons.

The commission is on a specially built site on a main road out of the centre of Kabul to the east, he adds. It is not yet clear if there are any casualties.

“We heard two explosions inside the IEC compound, the sound of firing is still ongoing, but people are safe and are in (reinforced) safe rooms,” IEC spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor tells AFP news agency.