KABUL: Eleven Taliban suicide bombers attacked government buildings in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, sparking running gunbattles that killed at least 20 people and wounded three US troops, officials said. US and Afghan troops freed 20 hostages taken by the insurgents.

The assault began around 10 am when a suicide bomber in a burqa attacked the governor's compound in Khost, an eastern city on the border with Pakistan that houses a major American base. That blast was followed soon after by a suicide car bomb explosion, said Wazir Pacha, the spokesman for the provincial police chief.

US forces attending a nearby meeting responded to the attacks and killed an unknown number of militants, said Lieutenant Commander Christine Sidenstricker, a US military spokeswoman.