Afghan forces regain control of Kabul after attacks

Afghanistan said its forces regained control of Kabul Monday after killing Taliban militants -- some disguised as women in burqas -- who launched one of the biggest attacks on the capital in a decade of war. A total of 47 people were killed and some 65 wounded in Kabul and three neighboring provinces where government and military targets also came under attack, Interior Minister Bismillah Mohammadi told a news conference. "A couple of the insurgents in Kabul were wearing burqas and carrying flowers" before opening fire, he said. "Once again, like in the past, all the insurgents were humiliated and were killed by the Afghan security forces." Kabul was hit by a wave of attacks in three areas Sunday, with embassies and foreign military bases coming under fire in what the Taliban said was the start of its spring offensive. Afghan security forces took the lead in countering the assault, but a spokesman for NATO forces in the country said they had provided air support in response to requests from the Afghans.

"Afghanistan said its forces regained control of Kabul Monday after killing Taliban militants -- some disguised as women in burqas -- who launched one of the biggest attacks on the capital in a decade of war"The US, British, German and Japanese embassy compounds came under fire as militants attacked the city's diplomatic enclave and tried to storm parliament, sparking a gun battle as lawmakers and bodyguards fired back from the rooftop. Outside the capital, militants attacked government buildings in Logar province, the airport in Jalalabad, and a police facility in the town of Gardez in Paktya province. The attacks marked one of the biggest assaults on the capital in 10 years of war in terms of their spread and coordination, observers say