Taliban militants have attacked have attacked the traffic police headquarters in Afghanistan capital Kabul, detonating explosives and sparking a gun battle that left ten people injured.

Three police officers and five militants were killed in the attack, which saw the militants take control of the building for several hours. The attacks began with the twin explosions of a suicide bomber and a car bomb by the gates of the police compound. Taliban fighters armed with suicide vests and heavy machine guns rushed into the building and barricaded themselves inside, hurling grenades out of the windows. After nine hours security forces managed to reclaim the building and the situation is now under control.

International Security Assistance Force spokesperson Brigadier General Gunter Katz told the press that insurgents are increasingly targeting the country's security forces.

"The last two attacks we have seen were indeed against Afghan government installations, if this is a trend, we don't know, this would be speculation, but it's very clear that the more and more the Afghan security forces are getting into the lead the more they are targeted by the insurgents."

The attack is the second to hit the Afghan capital in less than a week. Five days ago, suicide bombers attacked the National Directorate of Security in central Kabul, killing four guards and wounding dozens more. Militant groups continue to mount regular attacks in Afghanistan ahead of international troops pulling out of the country in 2014.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner