At least 29 dead in militant attack on Kabul govt compound

A suicide and gun attack on a Kabul government compound killed at least 29 people on Monday, an official said, in the latest bloody violence to strike the Afghan capital.

The raid capped a tumultuous few days in Afghanistan where officials are reeling from US President Donald Trump's plan to slash troop numbers, which many fear could harm efforts to end the 17-year war with the Taliban. It also comes after a major security shake-up in Kabul.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assault on the site where the Ministry of Public Works and other offices are located, which officials declared over after more than seven hours.

At least 20 people were wounded in addition to those killed, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said. Most of the victims were civilians.

Afghan forces killed three of the attackers and freed more than 350 people trapped inside the compound, Danish added. A fourth attacker died in a car bomb explosion that launched the attack.

One of the wounded civilians broke several bones after jumping from the third floor of a building to escape the attackers, an AFP correspondent at a hospital said.

Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the compound, with at least two military helicopters circling above.

Journalists near the scene reported hearing numerous explosions in the hours after the attack began mid-afternoon.

Ashraf, a witness who works at the Ministry of Public Works and who goes by one name, said earlier he had heard militants inside the compound exchanging gunfire with security forces.

"They are also firing at the NDS facility nearby," he told AFP after escaping the compound, referring to the Afghan spy agency, the National Directorate of Security.

Public works ministry spokesman Mehdi Rohani spoke to AFP as he and his colleagues were fleeing to a safe room shortly after the gunmen stormed the area.

"A car bomb detonated at the entrance of the ministry's parking lot," he told AFP by mobile phone as he ran from the scene.

"I can hear some gunfire outside the building. We are fine."