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Blasts, gunfire in Kandahar


    KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Gunmen fired rockets on the main intelligence building in the heart of Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar on Monday, a security source said.

    An exchange of gunfire could be heard from at least two areas of the city, the birthplace of the Taliban and the target of an expected mass assault by NATO-led forces in coming months.

    "It is very chaotic. They are firing at us with rifles and rockets and we do not know who they are," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

    The gunmen had occupied a disused building next to the main spy agency in a crowded, strategic location of Kandahar, he said.

    The Taliban have carried out a series of complex attacks, involving attackers and suicide bombers in several parts of Afghanistan in recent months.

    (Reporting by Ismail Sameem, Writing by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Ron Popeski)