Afghan security forces on Thursday succeeded in putting down a daring attack by suspected Taliban militants on Kabul International Airport, officials said.

The interior ministry said a group of insurgents seized a building under construction at the airport at around 4:40 a.m. (00:00 UTC), before opening fire with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. Security forces were able to end the attack after some four hours of fighting.

"Four terrorists were killed by police special forces. The area is being cleared now; there are no casualties to our forces," Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

Other officials confirmed that the four assailants were either killed by security forces or blew themselves up.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, which led to a suspension of all civilian flights at the airport.

Strategic site

Militants frequently fire rockets into the airport without causing much damage, but Thursday's incident was a rare frontal attack on the facility.

The airport is home to a major operational based for NATO-led forces that have been fighting Taliban and other insurgents for around 12 years, and is protected by heavy security measures, making it a tough target for militants.

The attack came as Afghanistan prepares to audit ballot papers from last month's disputed presidential run-off under an agreement between the two rival candidates brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry last weekend.

The Afghan army and NATO forces have been transporting some 23,000 balllot boxes to the capital, where they are to be examined at 100 verification stations.

The dispute over the election outcome had threatened to cast the country into renewed political turmoil with accompanying ethnic violence of the kind seen in Afghanisan in the 1990s.

tj/pfd (Reuters, AFP)