Afghan attack: Gunfire heard at Kabul 'CIA station'

Gunfire and a blast have been heard from a compound said to house the CIA station in the Afghan capital Kabul.

A US official confirmed there was an attack on the facility previously known as the Ariana hotel, describing the situation as "fluid".

The CIA has not commented, but Afghan counter-intelligence sources told the BBC at least one attacker was killed.

It comes two weeks after militants attacked the US embassy in Kabul.

They also fired rocket-propelled grenades at Nato headquarters in the city.

Some 25 people died in the 20-hour attack, which Washington blamed on the Haqqani militant group.

The US has accused Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI, of supporting the group - a claim denied by Islamabad.

Earlier this week, Burhanuddin Rabbani, the chief of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, was killed in a suicide bomb attack in the Afghan capital. The Taliban said they carried out that attack.

'Investigation ongoing'

The gunfire at the US compound was heard on Sunday evening.

It was not clear if the incident took place inside the building or just outside.

"The situation is fluid, and the investigation is ongoing," said the US official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official declined to provide further details.

Afghan intelligence sources told the BBC that their personnel in the area had heard one explosion and gunfire which lasted nearly 10 minutes.

They said that "at least one attacker was dead", without giving any further details.\

One source said: "The only thing we can confirm is they (the CIA) must have invited someone inside and he turned out to be an attacker. This is the only logical assumption."

The compound is located in the most secure part of Kabul - near the US embassy and Nato military bases.

Meanwhile, a source in the nearby Afghan presidential palace told the BBC:"After the explosion was heard, an Afghan National Army (ANA) vehicle was passing. CIA-employed guards opened fire on the vehicle, thinking it had attacked them."

The sources said that two ANA soldiers, one CIA guard and one presidential guard were injured.