At least four gunmen have launched an attack on Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel, Afghan officials say.

Special forces killed two of the attackers, an interior ministry spokesman said, and were trying to get to the others.

An official told AFP news agency the gunmen were “shooting at guests”.

At least five people have been injured, officials said. But local media reports suggested several people had been killed.

The attack began at about 21:00 local time (16:30 GMT), with some reports of the gunmen shooting security guards as they made their way into the five-storey building.

Security forces had cleared the first floor of the hotel but the attackers were still on the floors above, spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told the BBC.

The hotel guests included foreigners, and a fire has also broken out on the third floor where the kitchen is located, he added.

Some reports said the hotel had been hosting an IT conference attended by provincial officials at the time. One witness told Reuters news agency that the attackers had taken hostages.

The attack comes just days after the US embassy in Kabul issued a warning about hotels in the city.