At least nine people have been killed in heavy fighting at the airport in the Afghan city of Kandahar, reports say.
The militants carried out the arrack at the fortified airport on Tuesday evening.
A spokesman for the provincial governor said the attackers had managed to break the first gate of the complex in the southern city.
The airport compound houses the joint Nato and Afghan military headquarters.
Officials said the attackers had met heavy resistance from troops inside, with local authorities reportedly deploying commandos to the area.
An unconfirmed statement by the Taliban claimed that they had killed up to 80 soldiers, though this figure could not verified.
