Gunmen stormed a bank building in the Afghan capital and battled police for hours on Wednesday on the eve of a cliffhanger election which Taliban militants have vowed to disrupt, Reuters reported.
The brazen early morning raid was the third major attack in Kabul in five days, shattering the calm in a capital which had been secure for months.
Polls show President Hamid Karzai leading but likely to fall short of the outright majority needed to avoid an October run-off against his main challenger, ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
Violence could raise the chance of a run-off by suppressing turnout in southern areas where Karzai draws much of his support -- or even jeopardise the legitimacy of the poll altogether.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters the raid was carried out by five gunmen, some wearing suicide bomb vests.
Police said three fighters were involved. Security forces took reporters into a nearby compound and showed them the bullet-riddled bodies of three fighters killed in the clash.
A police source initially said three members of the security forces were also killed, but the Interior Ministry said in a statement there were no government casualties.
In a statement on a Taliban website, (www.alemara.org) the Islamic group said 20 suicide bombers had infiltrated the capital, preparing attacks to thwart the election. Another statement said the militants were closing roads countrywide.
"From today onwards until the end of tomorrow, all main and secondary roads will be blocked for traffic and the Mujahideen will bear no responsibility for whoever gets hurt," it said.
The Afghan government has ordered foreign and domestic media to impose a blackout on coverage of violence during Thursday's polls, saying it did not want Afghans to be frightened away.
Police beat journalists and bystanders with rifle butts to keep them away from the scene of Wednesday's raid. A cameraman and a reporter for Tolo TV, an independent Afghan station, were detained at the scene but later released, the station said.
Police initially said the attackers might have been bank robbers, but the Interior Ministry statement later referred to them as "terrorists". The raid follows a pattern the Taliban have employed in southern towns recently -- sending fighters to seize buildings.
It also came a day after a suicide car bomber killed eight people in the capital, the second such strike in four days. Such attacks had been common in the south, but had not taken place in comparatively-secure Kabul for months.
Streets in the capital were largely deserted on Wednesday, with businesses shut for Afghanistan's Independence Day holiday.
Many Afghans insist they will vote in spite of the threats.
"Why should I be afraid? This is Kabul; in Kabul there is security," said Noor Agha, 30, near the scene of Wednesday's siege. "I will vote tomorrow; I'm not afraid. Police and intelligence services are in the area, so I'm not afraid."
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