Gunmen have attacked a compound in the Afghan capital and engaged in a battle with security forces.

The assault in Kabul's western Karte Seh district was the latest round in a particularly violent week for the capital as Taliban insurgents stepped up operations ahead of the withdrawal of most foreign troops from Afghanistan at the end of next month. The Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack within minutes, with a spokesman saying on Twitter their fighters had targeted a Christian organisation seeking to convert Muslims.