Afghan security forces inspect the site of a car bomb attack in the capital, Kabul. (File photo)

The attack was carried out shortly after dawn on Monday. Large explosions and gunfire were also heard in the area.
The US Embassy in the diplomatic area of Kabul also sounded its ‘duck and cover’ alarm.
The militants, armed with machine guns and rocket propelled grenades, are said to have seized control of a building under construction near the airport, from which they targeted the base.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. However, the Taliban militant group said in April that it had begun its ‘spring offensive’ against the US-led foreign forces in the country.

Hashmat Stanikzai, Kabul’s police chief said that a group of attackers “entered a building in Qasaba road, west of Kabul airport, and started sporadic shooting.”

“Now the area is sealed off by the security forces and a stand-off between security forces and the attackers is ongoing,” the police chief added.

Kabul International Airport is home to the NATO Joint Command headquarters, and all flights in and out of the airport have been canceled due to the attack. Other NATO bases across the Afghan capital were also locked down.

The large NATO headquarters at the Kabul airport runs the day-to-day operations of the foreign forces in Afghanistan.

The Afghan capital last came under attack on May 24, when the Taliban militants carried out an assault on a compound of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).