Afghanistan: 14 killed in Taliban suicide attack on Kabul hotels

Source: Telegraph

At least ten people have been killed in a coordinated Taliban suicide attack on hotels used by foreigners in the affluent centre of Kabul.

By Ben Farmer in Mazar-i-Sharif


Source: BBC news
Officials say at least 17 people have died in a series of explosions and gunfire in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Source: Timesonline

The site of the suicide bomb attack in Kabul
(AFP/Massoud Hossaini)
The site of the suicide bomb attack in Kabul

A series of suicide blasts in central Kabul today killed at least 17 people and injured more than 30.
A car bomb exploded on the edge of a large park just after 6.30am, destroying a single storey guesthouse popular with Indian contractors.
Eyewitnesses said the streets were deserted as most people were still asleep on the start of the Afghan weekend, which is also part of a religious holiday.
Moments later witnesses said there was a second explosion followed by gunfire. Police and elite counter terrorism troops fought for more than three hours as rescuers continued to heave bodies out of four wrecked buildings.

“The first explosion was the loudest,” said Ahmed Shah, 28. “I ran outside and saw police covered with dust all over their faces. They told me to go inside.”
Police said four Indians, an Italian and three police officers were killed in the explosions.
Eyewitnesses said police at opposite ends of the street appeared to be shooting at each other in the chaos after the blasts.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the streets as troops, wary of concealed militants, cleared the buildings room by room.
The Taleban claimed responsibility for the attacks. Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said a squad of five people launched the attacks against two hotels “used by foreigners”.
The nine-storey glass façade of an upmarket shopping centre and hotel complex collapsed on to the street, while a four meter crater marked the spot of the first explosion outside the Hamid Guesthouse.
Thick branches torn from nearby trees and the charred remains of a car’s engine block littered the streets, as ambulances ferried the wounded to nearby hospitals.
US Marines, British bomb disposal experts and French soldiers arrived to survey the damage, while Afghan intelligence staff sifted through the debris for evidence.
The dusty head of a suicide bomber was loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher.
General Sayed Abdul Ghafour Sayedzada, the head of police intelligence, said three police officers were killed by a suicide bomber who they chased into the Park Residence Guesthouse.
He said an Italian national staying there was also killed by the explosion.
The Hamid Hotel and the Park Residence were both popular with Indians. They were both less than half a kilometre from the Indian Embassy which has been repeatedly targeted in deadly suicide attacks.
Afghan and US officials have accused Pakistan’s intelligence service of involvement in previous attacks against the Indian Embassy.
The assault appeared to be the biggest in the capital since Taleban gunmen launched a brazen attack on several targets in the centre of the city on January 18.

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