Afghan Taliban launches spring offensive

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 12 (UPI) -- Afghanistan's Taliban began its annual spring offensive on Monday with a deadly attack against a government building and rockets fired near Kabul international airport.

On Monday morning, armed militants clashed with Afghan security forces at the provincial Justice Department in Jalalabad. Spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior Sediq Sediqqi reported 10 deaths, including three militants, two policemen, and five civilian employees at the department.

The interior ministry said that rockets launched in Kabul landed near the international airport, in close proximity to military buildings, but did not cause any deaths or damage.

The Taliban, however, claimed the rocket attack claimed the lives of several people and caused damage to buildings.

When announcing the start of the spring offensive, the Taliban said it would target "military gatherings of foreign invading forces, their diplomatic centers and convoys, as well as the military mercenary stooges."