The British citizen killed in a Taliban attack on a G4S compound in the Afghan capital has been named by the security firm as Luke Griffin.

Charlie Burbridge, the managing director of G4S Risk Management Group, said five of their employees died in the “unprovoked, criminal attack” – including one Briton and four Afghans – 32 others were also injured.

On Wednesday, a Taliban suicide bomber rammed an explosive-packed truck into the gate of the G4S compound in eastern Kabul.

Afghanistan
The blast caused a crater (Rahmat Gul/AP)

Insurgents armed with grenades and automatic rifles then proceeded to storm the building, engaging in a drawn out battle with Afghan forces.

The suicide blast left a giant crater in its wake and blew out windows in nearby buildings. Six people were killed in the attack, as well as four insurgents, Afghan officials said.

A G4S spokesman has since confirmed that the British citizen killed in the attack on one of their compounds was Mr Griffin, who lived in the Merseyside area.

He said the 33-year-old had been working for the company for the past eight years.

It is understood that G4S have been providing security in Afghanistan to a number of bodies including non-governmental organisations and corporate clients since 2003.

The secure compound which was attacked is called Camp Anjuman and is where the security firm runs its security operations from in the country.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Twitter.

The group has since said it was launched in revenge for a US airstrike which was carried out hours before in southern Afghanistan that killed 30 people – including civilians, as well as children.