Kabul fighting ends with explosions and elite troops

An 18-hour Taliban attack on the Afghan capital Kabul ended early this morning as insurgents were overcome by heavy gunfire.

Afghan forces repeatedly fired rocket-propelled grenades into a building in the centre of Kabul where insurgents began the attack yesterday.

Elite soldiers also scaled scaffolding to bring the violence to an end.

Afghanistan's Defence Ministry says a total of 32 insurgents are now known to have died during the coordinated attacks.

Three Afghan soldiers were also killed and 10 injured.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks, but some officials said the Haqqanis, a network of tribal militants who live along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, may have been involved.

The main targets were the German and British embassies and the headquarters of the NATO-led force.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed all British diplomatic staff were "safe" and said there had been limited damage to British properties.