2 suicide bombers attack in downtown Kabul

Two suicide bombers launched an attack in downtown Kabul on Monday, near a hotel that was the site of a major assault a year ago, a Western military official said. There were no immediate details about casualties.

One of the insurgents detonated his explosives at the start of the attack, said the official, who declined to be named.

A senior Afghan police investigator rushing to the scene said gunfire was heard shortly after the blast.

"We have heard an explosion followed by gunfire but it is still not clear what is going on," said Mohammad Zahir, head of Kabul's crime investigation unit.

Violence in Afghanistan has reached the highest levels since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban, with civilian and military casualties at record levels. A period of relative calm in the capital also appears to have come to a bloody end.

Monday's assault came barely two weeks after a suicide bomber attacked a supermarket frequented by foreigners in the heart of the city's diplomatic district, killing at least nine people.

Several insurgent groups claimed responsibility for that attack.

In February 2010, at least 16 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a series of attacks on the Safi Landmark hotel and nearby guesthouses. An Italian diplomat and Indian government officials were killed in that assault.