WORLD NEWS

KABUL: Afghan forces exchanged gunfire with a group of militants holed up inside a U.N. guesthouse in the centre of Kabul on Wednesday, police said.

"There are five or six terrorists inside," said Waheed Sadiqi, a policeman at the scene. "The attack is inside a U.N. guest house."

Earlier, machinegun fire and an explosion resounded in central Kabul on Wednesday morning, but the cause of the firefight was unclear for as late as 1 hour.

Sporadic gunfire was heard and plumes of black smoke rose above buildings in the Afghan capital, media witnesses said.

Other media added: Afghan police were locked in a stand-off with a "group of terrorists" holed up in an apartment building in central Kabul on Wednesday, a police officer at the scene said.

The police officer told media that one of the group detonated an explosives vest before the rest of the group fled into the apartment building in a crowded neighbourhood near Kabul's Chicken Street.

"We don't know how many of them there are," he said.

A reporter and photographer saw a number of wounded being taken from the area to a local hospital, including at least two foreigners.