TALIBAN BEHIND ATTACK ON KABUL HOTEL

At least 18 killed by gunmen at Intercontinental after 13-hour siege during which guests tied together sheets to escape through upper-floor windows

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 killed yesterday.

Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the dead included a telecommunications official from the western Farah province.

“Eleven of the 14 foreigners killed were employees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline,” said Mr Danish. KamAir also put out an announcement saying some of their flights were disrupted because of 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, Mr Danish said.

The Taliban claimed the attack, which began about 9pm on 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 on Thursday night but postponed the assault because there was a wedding under way and they wanted to avoid civilian casualties.

Abdul Rahman Naseri, a guest visiting for a conference, told Reuters he was in the hall of the hotel when he saw four insurgents dressed in army uniforms.

“They were shouting in Pashto, ‘Don’t leave any of them alive, good or bad. Shoot and kill them all’,” Mr Naseri said.

“I ran to my room on the second floor. I opened the window and tried to get out using a tree but the branch broke and I fell to the ground. I hurt my back and broke a leg.”

Even after officials said the attack was over, sporadic gunshots and explosions could be heard from the site.

The raid was the latest in a long series of attacks that have underlined the city’s precarious situation and the ability of militants to mount high-profile operations aimed at undermining confidence in the western-backed government.

As day broke yesterday, thick clouds of black smoke could be seen pouring from the building. Several armoured US military vehicles with heavy machine guns, along with Afghan police units, could be seen close to the hotel.

Hotel manager Ahmad Haris Nayab, who escaped unhurt, said the attackers got into the main part of the building through a kitchen.

“When the sixth floor caught fire this morning, my roommate told me, ‘either burn or escape’,” said Mohammad Musa, who was hiding in his room on the top floor when he heard gunfire.

“I got a bed sheet and tied it to the balcony. I tried to come down but I was heavy and my arms were not strong enough. I fell down and injured my

ABDUL RAHMAN NASERI Hotel guest

shoulder and leg.”

The raid came just days after a US embassy warning of possible attacks on hotels in Kabul.

The Intercontinental Hotel, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop and heavily protected like most public buildings in Kabul, was previously attacked by Taliban fighters in 2011.

It is one of two main luxury hotels in the city and had been due to host an IT conference yesterday. More than 100 IT managers and engineers were on site when the attack took place, said Ahmad Waheed, an official at the telecommunications ministry.

The attack, days after a UN Security Council visit to Kabul to allow senior representatives of member states to assess the situation in Afghanistan, may lead to a further tightening of security in the city.

Large areas of the city centre are already closed off behind high concrete blast walls and police checkpoints, but the ability of the attackers to get into a well-protected hotel frequented by government officials and foreigners demonstrated how difficult it remains to prevent attacks.

Mr Danish said a private company had taken over security of the hotel about three weeks ago.

The US state department said on Saturday it was monitoring the situation and was in contact with Afghan authorities to determine whether any US citizens had been affected.

Capt Tom Gresback, spokesman for the Nato-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said they were also watching closely, but it was not clear what role international forces took in suppressing the attack.

“Afghan national defence and security forces are leading the response efforts. According to initial reports, no Resolute Support or [US forces] members were injured in this incident,” he said.

Although Resolute Support said the Taliban had come under pressure after the US increased assistance to Afghan security forces and stepped up air strikes against insurgents, security remains precarious.

As pressure on the battlefield has increased, security officials have warned that the danger of attacks on high-profile targets in Kabul and other cities would increase.

After repeated attacks in Kabul, notably an incident last May in which a lorry bomber killed at least 150 people outside the German embassy, security has been further tightened.

While it shares the same name, the hotel in Kabul is not part of InterContinental Hotels Group, which issued a statement in 2011 saying that “the hotel Inter-continental in Kabul is not part of IHG and has not been since 1980”.

I tried to get out using a tree but the branch broke and I fell to the ground. I hurt my back and broke a leg