Taliban: US Backs Talks Despite Kabul Attack

US President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have backed peace talks with the Taliban just hours after an attack on a CIA building in Kabul.

The White House said in a statement the two leaders "reiterated their support for an office in Doha for the purpose of negotiations between the High Peace Council and authorised representatives of the Taliban".

On Tuesday morning suicide attackers fought security forces for around an hour and blew up a car bomb outside Afghanistan's presidential palace after infiltrating one of Kabul's most secure areas.

Fighting also took place nearby at the Afghan ministry of defence and the former Ariana hotel, which is used by the CIA.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack and suggested all three buildings had been targeted.

Police said up to four gunmen jumped out of a car and opened fire after being stopped by security forces trying to use fake documents to get through a checkpoint.

The Taliban attacked the presidential palace on Tuesday

They were reportedly wearing military uniforms and the car was fitted with radio antennae to make it look like an ISAF vehicle.

All the assailants were killed in the gunfight, and one palace security guard was wounded, according to a police spokesman.

A car bomb also exploded outside the palace and there were reports of more than one vehicle device.

Talks between the US officials and the Taliban had been set to take place last Thursday in Qatar.

But Afghan government anger at the fanfare surrounding the opening of the Taliban office in the Gulf state threw preparations into confusion.

The opening of the Taliban office was ostensibly a practical step to pave the way for peace talks to end Afghanistan's 12-year-old war.

But the official-looking protocol surrounding the event raised angry protests in Kabul that the office would develop into a Taliban government-in-exile.

The militants have indicated they are willing to open peace talks with the US and the Afghan government.

However, at the same time they have not renounced violence and attacks have continued across Afghanistan.

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