An Afghan medic carries stretcher after a Taliban-claimed suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks against the security forces since... (Associated Press) 
 
 An Afghan medic carries stretcher after a Taliban-claimed suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks against the security forces since announcing the start of their spring offensive last week. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (Associated Press) 
 
 KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Latest on the militant assault on an Afghan government security compound in Kabul (all times local): 
 
 1:45 p.m. 
 
 Afghan officials have raised the death toll from a coordinated Taliban attack on a government security agency to 28. 
 
 Kabul Police Chief Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi told reporters Tuesday that another 327 people were wounded in the assault — which began with a powerful suicide car bomb attack on the agency compound gates. A group of armed militants then entered the compound and waged a prolonged battle with government security forces. 
 
 The agency is similar to the U.S. Secret Service, providing personal protection for high-ranking government officials. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. 
 
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 1 p.m. 
 
 Afghan officials have announced that a gun battle with Taliban militants on the grounds of a key government security agency has ended. 
 
 Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said Tuesday that at least one of the attackers was killed in the battle. A Public Health Ministry spokesman said a total of seven people were killed and 327 wounded in the coordinated assault on a government agency similar to the U.S. Secret Service, providing personal protection for high-ranking government officials. 
 
 The casualty figures are expected to rise. 
 
 ___ 
 
 12:30 p.m. 
 
 Afghan officials have increased the casualty figures from a coordinated militant assault on a key government security agency compound in the capital, Kabul. Ismail Kawasi, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry, said Tuesday that so far 208 wounded people, including women and children, have been brought to area hospitals. An Interior Ministry statement said that there have been fatalities but it was still unclear how many people were killed. 
 
 The casualty figures are expected to rise as a gun battle was still underway early Tuesday afternoon in Kabul. 
 
 ___ 
 
 9 a.m. 
 
 Armed militants in Afghanistan have staged a coordinated assault on a key government security agency in the capital Tuesday morning, wounding nearly 200 people. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. 
 
 The attack, including a suicide car bombing, appears to have targeted an agency similar to the U.S. Secret Service, providing personal protection for high-ranking government officials. 
 
 Ismail Kawasi, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry, said so far 198 wounded people have been brought to area hospitals. 
 
 Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said Tuesday that the suicide attack was followed by an assault by armed militants. The area has been surrounded by government forces and dozens of ambulances have rushed to the scene. 
 
 "Security forces are in a fight with an unknown number of armed insurgents right now," Mohammad Afzel, a police officer at the site of the attack, told The Associated Press. 
 
 Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, and said that a number of their fighters were currently inside the compound battling with security forces. 
 
 Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks recently since announcing the start of their spring offensive last week. 
 
 President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement condemning the attack and saying it, "clearly shows the enemy's defeat in face-to-face battle with Afghan security forces." ||||| A suicide car bomber has struck at the gates of Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan, officials said, killing nine people in an attack insurgents said was revenge for U.S. troops burning Qurans. 
 
 The early Monday explosion comes after six days of deadly protests in Afghanistan over the disposal of Qurans and other Islamic texts in a burn pit last week at a U.S. military base north of the capital. 
 
 American officials have called the incident a mistake and issued a series of apologies. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has urged calm, saying that Afghans should not let the insurgents capitalize on their indignation to spark violence. 
 
 Monday's attack appeared to be a sign that the Taliban are seizing the opportunity to do just that. 
 
 The bomber drove up to the gates of the airport _ which serves both civilian and international military aircraft _ shortly after dawn and detonated his explosives in a "very strong" blast, said Nangarhar provincial police spokesman Hazrad Mohammad. 
 
 Among the dead were six civilians, two airport guards and one soldier, Mohammad said. Another six people were wounded, he said. 
 
 An AP photographer saw at least four destroyed cars at the gates of the airport. 
 
 NATO forces spokesman Capt. Justin Brockhoff said that no international forces were killed in the early morning attack and that the installation was not breached by the blast. 
 
 The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying a suicide car bomber had driven up to the airport gate and detonated his explosives as international forces were changing from night to morning guard duty. 
 
 "This attack is revenge against those soldiers who burned our Quran," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in an email. 
 
 More than 30 people have been killed in protests and related attacks since the incident came to light this past Tuesday, including four U.S. soldiers. 
 
 On Sunday, demonstrators hurled grenades at a small U.S. base in northern Afghanistan and the ensuing gun battle left two Afghans dead and seven NATO troops injured. 
 
 Still, the top U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan said Sunday that the violence would not change Washington's course. 
 
 "Tensions are running very high here, and I think we need to let things calm down, return to a more normal atmosphere, and then get on with business," Ambassador Ryan Crocker told CNN. 
 
 In the most high-profile attack, two military advisers were found dead in their office at the Interior Ministry in the heart of the capital with shots to the back of their heads. The slayings inside one of the city's most heavily guarded buildings raised doubts about safety as coalition troops continue their withdrawal. 
 
 The incident prompted NATO, Britain and France to recall hundreds of international advisers from all Afghan ministries in the capital. The advisers are key to helping improve governance and preparing the country's security forces to take on more responsibility. 
 
 A manhunt was under way for the main suspect in the shooting _ an Afghan man who worked as a driver for an office on the same floor as the advisers who were killed, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said. He did not provide further details about the suspect or his possible motive. 
 
 The Taliban claimed that the shooter was one of their sympathizers and that an accomplice had helped him get into the compound to kill the Americans in retaliation for the Quran burnings.
– Armed militants in Afghanistan staged a coordinated assault on a key government security agency in Kabul Tuesday morning, killing at least 28 people. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. The attack appears to have targeted an agency similar to the US Secret Service, providing personal protection for high-ranking government officials, the AP reports. Kabul Police Chief Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi told reporters that another 327 people were wounded in the assault, which began with a powerful suicide car bomb attack on the agency compound gates. A group of armed militants then entered the compound and waged a prolonged battle with government security forces, which officials say has now ended. Dozens of civilian apartment buildings, houses, and shops, as well as several government buildings, were damaged by the car bomb blast. Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks since announcing the start of their spring offensive last week, though the Guardian notes that the winter was unusually violent, with multiple attacks in the capital and elsewhere. President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement condemning the latest attack, saying it "clearly shows the enemy's defeat in face-to-face battle with Afghan security forces." (The Taliban claimed to have just missed John Kerry with a rocket attack during his recent visit to Kabul.)