UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned as "shocking and shameless" a Taliban raid which killed at least five UN workers in the Afghan capital Kabul.
Three Afghans also died when suicide bombers stormed a UN guesthouse in the city, but Mr Ban said the UN would not be deterred from its mission there.
The Taliban said the attack was the first step in its bid to disrupt next week's presidential run-off election.
But the White House said such attacks would not derail the vote.
In a separate attack, rockets were fired at the city's five-star Serena Hotel, but no-one was injured.
'Family loss'
The attack on the private Bekhtar guesthouse in the Shar-i-Naw district was the deadliest on the United Nations in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to the Associated Press and said it was the "first attack" in the run-up to the second round of the presidential election on 7 November.
"This is a sad day and a very difficult day for the United Nations," Mr Ban said in New York. "I want to extend my deepest condolences to the families, and to our UN family."
The UN chief condemned the "shocking and shameless act", but he said the UN would not be deterred from its "noble mission".
"We stand by the people of Afghanistan today, and we will do so tomorrow," he said.
Mr Ban pledged to review security procedures in Afghanistan and take all necessary measures to protect its staff there.
US reaction
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was confident that existing security arrangements were appropriate.
"The administration is confident that there are the appropriate resources to conduct an election and that the will of the Afghan people won't be thwarted," Mr Gibbs told reporters in Washington.
The head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said he could not yet give details of the nationalities of the victims, although the US embassy has confirmed one of the dead was an American.
UN officials initially said six of its workers had been killed, but later revised the figure to at least five dead and nine wounded.
In addition to the UN staff, two Afghan security personnel and a civilian were killed.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the attack was "an inhuman act".
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also condemned the attack.
"The victims of these terrorist attacks were devoted to helping the Afghan people build better lives. In targeting them, the Taliban has demonstrated once again that it is truly an enemy of the Afghan people."
Brazen attack
The attack on the guesthouse, which is used by the UN and other international organisations, happened just before 0600 (0130 GMT).
At least 25 UN workers were at the guesthouse, including 17 members of the election team.
Three Taliban militants with suicide vests, grenades and machine guns carried out the assault.
UN spokesman Aleem Siddique told the BBC there was gunfire and an explosion outside the guesthouse as UN employees tried to flee. The building was gutted by fire.
The three gunmen were shot dead and the incident ended at about 0830 local time.
There has been heightened tension in Afghanistan since the first round of the presidential election, which was marred by widespread fraud.
The UN is playing a leading role in organising the run-off vote, and the BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul says the attack is clearly a tactic of the Taliban to prevent its staff from going about their business safely.
Mr Karzai will face his rival Abdullah Abdullah in the 7 November vote.
BBC News
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