At least eight people were killed after Taliban militants stormed the airport complex in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar city, triggering an all-night gun battle, officials said Wednesday.

"Eight people, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed," Samim Khpalwak, a spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, told AFP.

Dawood Shah Wafadar, a military commander in Kandahar, gave a higher death toll of 18.