- NEW: Kabul police chief says people were dining outside Thursday night
- Afghan insurgents attack hotel west of Kabul
- Some police and civilian casualties were reported, NATO says
- It's the latest in a string of high-profile strikes this week
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan and NATO troops were attempting to push back an insurgent attack on a hotel outside Kabul early Friday with an unknown number of Afghan police and civilian casualties, Afghan and allied officials said.
Maj. Adam Wojack, a spokesman for the alliance's International Security Assistance Force, said the attack took place at a hotel near Lake Qargha, west of the Afghan capital. And Kabul Police Chief Mohammed Ayoub Salangi said the standoff began before midnight Thursday (3:30 p.m. ET), when three attackers with different weapons attacked the hotel.
"We are very cautious to avoid any major civilian casualties. That's why it's taken so long, and the clashes between Afghan security forces and attackers continue," Salangi said. "I can't say anything about numbers of casualties. But last evening, civilians -- including women and children -- went to this area for a dinner outdoors."
There was no immediate indication of any NATO casualties, Wojack said.
"Since the operation is ongoing, we can't provide any more details," he said.
Friday's pre-dawn attack comes after several days of high-profile strikes aimed at allied troops and Afghan security forces, including bombings in two restive provinces in the country's east that killed at least 29 people, including three American soldiers, on Wednesday.
It also comes nearly a year after an insurgent assault on Kabul's Hotel Inter-Continental, which left the nine attackers and 12 others dead.
