Large attack launched on U.S. embassy in Kabul

The attack comes weeks after another Taliban attack on the British embassy and calls into question the security of the heavily guarded facility.

The Taliban claimed responsibility on Tuesday morning for an attack on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in the diplomatic district of Kabul, Afghanistan, according to reports. The group launched "a massive suicide attack" on the embassy beginning around 4:30 a.m. EST, a spokesman for the Taliban told the BBC. The attackers were using rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, officials told CNN.

"We don't know how many suicide bombers are in the building," Col. Abdul Zahir, of the criminal investigative division of the Kabul police, told The New York Times. "They're shooting at the embassy. We're still in fighting position. We can't say anything."

The gunmen began firing from the top of a building under construction in the Wazir Akbar Khan area, which is home to a number of other foreign missions. The attack comes weeks after another Taliban attack on the British embassy and calls into question the security of the heavily guarded embassy.

No embassy personnel were injured, a spokesman told Bloomberg.