Suicide attackers target intelligence agency

Suicide bombers targeted Afghanistan's intelligence agency and other security forces in four co-ordinated attacks in the heart of Kabul and outlying areas yesterday in a bloody reminder of the insurgency's reach nearly 12 years into the war.

The brazen assaults were the latest to strike Afghan forces, who have suffered higher casualties this year as US and other foreign troops shift responsibility for security to the government.

The deadliest attack occurred just after sunrise - a suicide car bombing at the gate of the National Directorate of Security compound in Jalalabad, 125 kilometers east of Kabul.

Guards shot and killed the driver but he managed to detonate the explosives-packed vehicle, killing two intelligence agents and wounding three others

A guard also shot and killed a man in an SUV filled with dynamite that was targeting an NDS building on a busy street in Kabul, not far from Nato headquarters. The explosives in the vehicle were defused.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks.