Four heavily armed suicide bombers Monday stormed Iraq’s embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, officials confirmed, but gave few further details.
Islamic State through its global mouth piece, Amaq News Agency, claimed it plotted the attack.
The Afghan interior ministry said that the siege was continuing but security forces have safely rescued the diplomatic staff. It was not known immediately whether there have been any casualties.
The ministry said that one of the bombers blew himself up at the main gate, making way for other attackers to enter the diplomatic facility.
Militant attacks in Kabul have claimed scores of civilian lives this year.
A United Nations report says the capital city experienced 20 percent of the more than 1,600 deaths the armed conflict has caused in Afghanistan in the first six months of 2017.
Taliban insurgents and militants loyal to Islamic State have claimed responsibilities for the violence.
