Taliban slaughters foreigners in attack on hotel
GUNMEN STORMED the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, killing at least 18 people, including 14 foreigners.
A gun battle with security forces began late on Saturday and continued for more than 12 hours into Sunday afternoon as frantic guests tried to escape from fourth and fifth-floor windows.
Six other people, including three from the security forces, were reported wounded and more than 150 people were rescued from the hotel.
The bodies of attackers were recovered as security forces went from room to room to clear the landmark building.
The Intercontinental Hotel is located on a hilltop in the Baghe Bala area of the capital and is heavily guarded because it hosts both Afghan and foreign guests as well as official conferences.
Last night’s attack unfolded almost six years after Taliban insurgents launched a similar assault.
The property is not part of the InterContinental chain of worldwide hotels.
The Interior Ministry said a private firm assumed responsibility for securing the hotel about three weeks ago. The ministry says it is investigating how the attackers managed to enter the building.
Afghan security officials confirmed that 34 provincial officials were gathered at the hotel to participate in a conference organised by the Telecommunication Ministry.
As the fighting raged, a fire broke out. Live TV footage showed people trying to escape through windows.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Najib Danish, said 11 of the 14 foreigners killed were employees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline.
Ten others were wounded, including six security officers and four civilians.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying five gunmen armed with suicide vests targeted foreigners and Afghan officials.
A spokesman said in a statement quoted by AFP that the group had “killed tens of foreign invaders and their puppets”. It also claimed to have postponed the attack because of a wedding party being held at the hotel on Thursday.
The attack unfolded almost six years after Taliban insurgents launched a similar assault on the property.
Neighbouring Pakistan condemned the “brutal terrorist attack” and called for greater cooperation against militants.
Afghanistan and Pakistan routinely accuse each other of failing to combat extremists along their long and porous border.
In the northern Balkh province, insurgents burst into a home where several members of a local pro-government militia were gathered late on Saturday, leading them outside and killing 18 of them, including the local police commander.
In the western Farah province, a roadside bomb killed a deputy provincial police chief and wounded four other police. The Taliban claimed both attacks.
In the western Herat province, a roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying 13 civilians, killing all but one of them.
No one immediately claimed the attack, but the Taliban often plants such bombs to target Afghan security forces.