Death toll in Taliban attack on Kabul reaches 27 including children 14.09.11
3NATO has revealed 27 people died in the 20-hour Taliban onslaught in Kabul, including Afghan police, civilians and insurgents, which ended today.
General John Allen said 11 were Afghan civilians, with more than half of them children. Five Afghan police officers were also killed.
He said that 11 insurgents also died in the battle, seven of them in the clearing operation inside the building where they were holed up near the US embassy.
Four other attackers were suicide bombers.
Shooting and explosions were heard throughout the night as police and army commandos cleared the partially-constructed tower block which the gunmen had used as a base.
Earlier, suicide bombers and others armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked targets including the American embassy and the headquarters of the NATO-led international force, ISAF.
The length of time it took local security forces to bring the situation under control is raising questions about their ability to cope when international forces hand over.