DUSHANBE, June 29, 2011, Asia-Plus – International media outlets report that at least 10 Afghan civilians were killed when suicide bombers and heavily armed Taliban insurgents attacked a hotel frequented by Westerners in the Afghan capital late on Tuesday.
Helicopters from the NATO-led force killed the last three insurgents in a final rooftop battle, a coalition spokesman was quoted as saying.
The BBC reports two helicopters shot dead three attackers at the Intercontinental Hotel during an overnight clash that lasted nearly five hours.
Three other attackers and at least 10 civilians, reportedly all Afghans, were killed in the assault. The hotel is popular with Westerners, although all guests are reported safe.
According to Reuters, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said several fighters from the Islamist group had attacked the hotel.
Mujahid, who spoke to Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location, said heavy casualties had been inflicted. The Taliban often exaggerate the number of casualties in attacks against Western and Afghan government targets, Reuters noted.
Interior ministry spokesman Siddiq Siddiqi told AFP that all the non-militants killed were Afghans, and that eight other people had been wounded.
The attack began while many guests were in the dining room late on Tuesday. Afghan officials told the BBC that one suicide bomber had blown himself up at the front of the hotel and another on the second floor.
Witnesses said panic broke out as guests fled for safety. Afghan troops and police sealed off the building and cut the power, using flares to light the area. Afghan police said one militant was shot dead as security forces fought their way through.
Three attackers managed to reach the roof and Afghan officials then asked the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) for assistance, security sources told the BBC. Isaf spokesman Major Tim James said those killed on the roof by Nato helicopters appeared to have been wearing suicide vests.
Officials said a meeting of provincial governors taking place at the hotel might have been the target of the attack. The attack also came the night before the start of a conference about the transition of responsibility for security from Isaf to Afghan security forces.
Correspondents say the Intercontinental is one of Kabul”s most heavily guarded hotels.
Kabul has been relatively stable in recent months, although violence has increased across the country since the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2, and the start of the Taliban”s “spring offensive”.
In January 2008, militants stormed the capital”s most popular luxury hotel, the Serena, and killed eight people, including an American, a Norwegian and a Philippine woman.
