At least 19 dead as Taliban gunmen attack Kabul hotel
Six assailants stage a bloody 13-hour long siege, spraying bullets at staff, diners and residents
AT LEAST 19 people died when Taliban gunmen in army uniforms stormed a luxury Kabul hotel popular with Afghan officials and foreigners.
Eyewitnesses said the gunmen deliberately targeted foreigners on a 13hour rampage through the six-floor Intercontinental Hotel.
One Afghan told the BBC that he was spared by militants who shouted, “Where are the foreigners?” as they began shooting around 9pm on Saturday.
At least 14 of the dead were believed to be foreign nationals, among them two Venezuelans and six Ukrainians.
The siege ended yesterday morning as Afghan special forces killed the last of six gunmen who had been armed with grenades, automatic weapons and suicide vests.
By 10am, Special Forces could be seen sweeping the roof of the hotel as fire teams fought a blaze on the sixth floor. Thick clouds of smoke could be seen pouring from the building, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop.
About 150 staff and guests escaped amid heavy gunfire and explosions. One witness alleged that the hotel’s security team had fled “without a fight”.
Dramatic footage showed people clambering from upper-floor balconies down tied bedsheets. Aziz Tayeb, a telecoms executive, posted a desperate plea on Facebook while hiding behind a pillar as attackers sprayed guests and staff with bullets: “Pray for me. I may die,” he wrote. He was at the hotel for an IT conference.
Abdul Rahman Naseri, also there for the conference, saw four gunmen in army uniforms. “They were shouting, ‘Don’t leave any of them alive, good or bad’ and ‘shoot and kill them all.’
“I ran to my room on the second floor, opened the window and tried to get out on a tree but the branch broke and I fell to the ground.”
The attackers are believed to have entered via the kitchen. A waiter said the men had sat down and ordered food before opening fire.
“They were wearing very stylish clothes,” the man said. “They came to me and asked for food. I served them and they thanked me and took their seats. Then they took out their weapons and started shooting people.”
A senior security officer said the attackers moved up from the first floor to the fourth and fifth floors, suggesting the attack had been carefully prepared. Mohammad Musa, who hid in his room on the top floor, said: “I got a bed sheet and tied it to the balcony. I tried to come down but my arms were not strong enough. I fell down and injured my shoulder and leg. There were dozens of dead bodies lying around me.”
Wahid Majroh, a ministry spokesman, last night said 19 bodies had been recovered, but a senior Afghan official said the final death toll could pass 30.
At least 11 of the dead worked for the Afghan airline Kam Air, which yesterday suspended domestic flights. It said a 14 employees were still missing.
Among the dead was Dr Abdullah Waheed Poyan, an academic who had been in the Afghan diplomatic corps.
Najib Danesh, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said a private company had taken over security at the hotel just three weeks ago. He said there would be a full investigation.
The raid was the latest in a series of attacks designed to undermine confidence in the West-backed government. It came days after a US embassy warned of possible attacks on hotels in Kabul. The Taliban, which attacked the hotel in 2011, has claimed responsibility.
‘They were shouting don’t leave any of them alive, good or bad, and shoot and kill them all. I fell to the ground’