Taliban launch raids on Kabul and other Afghan targets

A Taliban spokesman said fighters were attacking embassies in the diplomatic enclave, Nato's HQ and the parliament building in the west of the capital.

Multiple blasts and gunfire have been heard across Kabul.

The Taliban spokesman said there were also attacks in Logar and Paktia provinces. There are also reports of suicide attacks in Jalalabad.

Nato said it had reports of attacks in seven locations in Kabul but there were no reports as yet of any casualties.

The British embassy was one of the targets, with two rockets hitting a guard tower. A rocket-propelled grenade was also fired into a house used by British diplomats, witnesses told Reuters.

Smoke billowing

At least seven large explosions were heard in central Kabul and gunfire erupted from various directions in the heavily barricaded diplomatic zone.

We heard loud explosions and had to take cover in a bunker”

Abdulhadi Jalalabad

Residents were reportedly running for cover and sirens wailing in the Wazir Akbar Khan district.

Some explosions were also heard near the parliament building in western Kabul and police said it was under attack.

Reuters said a number of MPs had joined the fight against insurgents, quoting Kandahar lawmaker Naeem Hameedzai Lalai as saying: "I'm the representative of my people and I have to defend them."

Rockets were reportedly fired at the Russian embassy and smoke was said to be billowing from the direction of the German embassy.

The US embassy confirmed there were attacks nearby. It said: "The embassy is currently in lockdown... all compound personnel are accounted for and safe."

Britain's Foreign Office said it was "in close contact with embassy staff".

The British embassy was one of the targets

The Agence France-Presse news agency reported that the newly built Kabul Star hotel was on fire.

Kabul resident Idris Ghairat, who lives near the hotel, told the BBC: "I can see the smoke rising. The fighting is around us and I have heard the blasts and gunfire. The security forces have taken position on top of all government buildings close to the hotel."

Another attack appeared to target a Nato base known as Camp Warehouse on the outskirts of the city, where Turkish and Greek Nato forces were trying to repel militants.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says there are also reports of a suicide attack that has closed the centre of the eastern city of Jalalabad.

Police said suicide bombers had attacked the airport there.

Abdulhadi, who works for the World Food Programme in Jalalabad, told the BBC: "The US air base was under attack. We heard loud explosions and had to take cover in a bunker."

Militants also took over a government building in Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province, police said, and a gun battle was under way.

A gun battle was also taking place in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, where militants had taken over another building.

There is normally a surge in the number of Taliban attacks at this time of year following a relative lull in winter, when militants find it more difficult to move around.