Four civilians and an Afghan soldier were killed Monday in at least two explosions and small arms fire from insurgents in the western city of Herat, officials said.
At least 10 security forces and 33 civilians were injured when four militants, equipped with suicide vests and automatic rifles attacked a NATO compound in the centre of the city, Noor Khan Nikzad, spokesman for the provincial police chief, said.
A bomber detonated his explosive-laden vehicle in front of NATO's provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in the centre of the city, while other insurgents fired on the base, said Major Tim James, spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
"There were ISAF injuries, but there is no report of any fatality," he said.
The compound housed the Italian civilian-military office said Daud Sabah, governor of the province, also called Herat.
The three bombers occupied a building close to PRT and exchanged fire with Afghan and foreign troops that lasted for five hours, Nikzad said, adding that the standoff ended after all the attackers were killed, DPA reported.
Officials said that explosives hidden in a large pressure cooker hit another central part of the city, injuring several civilians.
Private broadcaster Tolo said a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle outside the PRT in the centre of the provincial capital while several other bombers stormed the compound.
But James said that no insurgents were able to get access to the PRT compound.
Herat is a relatively peaceful city by Afghan standards.
Afghan forces were expected to take over security responsibility for Herat city and at least five more sites from NATO troops in July. The overall security handover is expected to be completed by the end of 2014 when all foreign combat troops are to leave Afghanistan.
Monday's attack came two days after a suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a compound for the governor of the northern province of Takhar, killing two top Afghan police commanders, two German soldiers and two other government employees.
The attack also injured the provincial governor and General Markus Kneip, the top German commander in northern Afghanistan. Kneip was the highest-ranking NATO official to have been injured in a Taliban attack since the foreign forces were deployed to the country nearly 10 years ago.