Taliban siege on Afghan hotel ends after 13 hours, 18 dead

A Taliban assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Afghanistan’s capital killed at least 18 people, including 14 foreigners, and pinned security forces down for more than 13 hours before the last attacker was slain Sunday. The casualty toll expected to rise.

The heavily guarded luxury hotel is popular among foreigners and Afghan officials. Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the 18 killed included 14 foreigners and a telecommunications official from western Farah province who was attending a conference.

Danish said 11 of the 14 foreigners killed were employees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline. KamAir also put out a statement saying some of their flights were disrupted because of the attack.

One Ukrainian citizen was killed in the attack, according to Vasyl Kyrylych, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. His brief statement on Twitter did not provide further details. Afghan officials did not identify the foreigner killed in the attack.

Ten other people, including six from the security forces, were reported wounded and more than 150 people, including 41 foreigners, were rescued from the hotel, Danish said.

The Taliban claimed the attack, which began around 9 p.m. Saturday, saying five gunmen armed with suicide vests targeted foreigners and Afghan officials. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgents initially planned to attack the hotel Thursday night but postponed the assault because there was a wedding underway and they wanted to avoid civilian casualties.