DHAKA: Afghan security forces are battling gunmen following a suicide attack outside the Iraqi embassy in the capital, Kabul.

Four attackers targeted the complex in the central Shar-e-Naw neighbourhood, reports the BBC quoting the Afghan interior ministry.

A bomber blew himself up at the gate of the embassy, and three others entered the compound. No information has been provided about casualties.

So-called Islamic State (IS) said it carried out the attack.

Kabul has seen a number of deadly assaults this year blamed on either IS or the Taliban.

Correspondents say this is the first attack on the city's Iraqi embassy. It comes two weeks after the embassy held a news conference to celebrate the defeat of IS in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

All embassy employees were evacuated from the complex, the Afghan interior ministry said in a statement.

Pictures on social media show black plumes of smoke rising into the sky.

According to the United Nations, Afghanistan has seen at least 1,662 civilian deaths in the first half of the year, with about 20% of those in the capital.

BDST: 1710 HRS, JULY 31, 2017
AP