KABUL: Taliban fighters opened fire, hurled grenades and staged suicide bombings in central Kabul on Friday, killing 16 people in a show of defiance against the Western-backed government and a NATO offensive to wipe them out.

Among the dead were eight Afghans, including three police officers, four Indian nationals and an Italian, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. The French Foreign Ministry said one French national had been killed in the assault.

The attack came as NATO-led foreign troops and Afghan forces press ahead with an offensive against the Taliban in their stronghold in southern Helmand province, a key element of Washington's new strategy to put down a growing insurgency.