Kabul, May 27 (IANS): Four militants were killed after trying to storm a guesthouse in a diplomatic area of Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul, police said on Wednesday.

The attack began late Tuesday night after the four militants tried to take control of a guest house and a nearby hotel in the heavily guarded Wazir Akbar Khan district in central Kabul, home to several embassies and official buildings, Xinhua news agency reported.

The attack resulted in a gun battle lasting several hours.

"In an attack in Wazir Akbar Khan, four attackers were killed, one Rocket Propelled Grenade, three AK-47 and one rocket launcher were seized, and no civilian or military casualties took place," Deputy Interior Minister in-Charge of Security General Ayoub Salangi tweeted.

The Taliban insurgent group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Afghanistan's interior ministry told the BBC that the target was the Heetal guesthouse, that was attacked by the Taliban in December 2009 and is now officially known as the Rabbani Guesthouse.

It is popular with foreigners and is owned by the Rabbani family, including Afghanistan's current Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, and its former president Burhanuddin Rabbani.