Taliban attacks target Italians, kill five Afghans

HEART: Five Afghans were killed Monday and 52 people wounded, including five Italian soldiers, when the Taliban attacked a NATO compound and a crowded roundabout in a usually peaceful city.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside Herat's Italian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), which works on development projects, while several other attackers unleashed a volley of gunfire from a nearby building.

Shortly afterwards a motorcycle bomb went off at a crowded roundabout in the historic western city, which within weeks will become one of the first places in war-torn Afghanistan to transition from NATO to Afghan security control.

Speaking after around five hours of fighting ended, provincial police chief Sayed Agha Saqeb said: "It's over.

"Four civilians are dead, one (Afghan army) commando was killed and eight others are injured. Thirty-six civilians are injured, three police are injured."

Women and children were among the wounded, he said, adding there had been a total of five attackers.

The police chief's toll did not include the injured Italians but that figure was confirmed by Italian defence minister Ignazio La Russa.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, total of four international troops were killed in other incidents Monday.

One was killed when a man in Afghan army uniform opened fire in the troubled south; another died following a helicopter crash landing, also in the south; and two were killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) did not give further details of any of the deaths, in line with policy.