Multiple killed in Kabul hotel attack, overnight siege ends

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Several people were killed after gunmen attacked Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel on Saturday night, seizing hostages and exchanging gunfire with security forces as the building in the Afghan capital caught fire and as residents and staff fled.

Updated at 10:20 p.m. BJT

The death toll of the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel siege has climbed to 18, including four Afghans and 14 foreigners, reported AP citing Afghanistan's Interior Ministry.

However, five Afghans were reported killed in an early report by AFP.

According to local news agency Tolo News, the number of causalities could be as high as 43.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Pakistan and the US Ambassador in Kabul strongly condemned the brutal terrorist attack.

Updated at 05:30 p.m. BJT

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the hotel attack in Kabul, saying five gunmen were involved in the assault, Tolo News reported.

Early report said four gunmen were killed by security force.

Six civilians including one foreign woman were killed in the hours-long siege.

"Five Afghans and one foreigner have been killed," AFP reported citing interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi.

But local news agency Tolo News said the death toll could be higher, quoting source.

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Updated at 01:50 p.m. BJT

An attack on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel has ended with all three attackers killed, a spokesperson for the interior ministry said on Sunday, over 12 hours after the gunmen stormed the building.

At least five civilians were killed, and six others injured, the interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish confirmed, adding that 153 people including 41 foreigners were rescued.

Najib also dispelled reports of a hostage situation. However, firefighters are still trying to bring the hotel blaze under control.

Smoke rises from the Intercontinental Hotel during an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 21, 2018. /VCG Photo

Updated at 10:30 a.m. BJT

According to TOLO news, an explosion and the sound of rapid gunfire were heard shortly before 4 a.m. local time on Sunday after two hours of calm.

Security forces, including special forces, were still busying battling the attackers holed up in the building several hours after gunmen stormed the hotel at around 9 p.m. local time on Saturday night.

The area was cordoned off. Ambulances had taken some of the injured to hospitals, but the exact number of casualties has not yet been disclosed.

An Afghan policeman keeps watch near the site of an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 20, 2018. /VCG Photo

Updated at 07:34 a.m. BJT

At least four gunmen attacked Kabul's landmark Intercontinental Hotel in a night-time raid on Saturday and started shooting at guests and staff, officials said, in an hours-long assault that is still ongoing. Unofficial sources said that more than 15 people were killed and that several civilians were taken hostage by the assailants.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack in the Afghan capital that followed a series of security warnings in recent days to avoid hotels and other locations frequented by foreigners.

‍‍An Afghan security force member watches over the site of an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 20, 2018. /VCG Photo

Four attackers are inside the building, an official at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) spy agency told AFP, adding that they were "shooting at guests."

Another official said the attackers were armed with small weapons and rocket-propelled grenades when they blasted their way into the hotel, which often hosts weddings, conferences and political gatherings.

"Seven wounded people have been taken to the hospital," interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP, adding two attackers have been killed.

"Some other guests have been rescued. We will be able to release casualty figures once the operation ends." Rahimi said the first and second floors of the hotel have been secured by Afghan forces, who are now trying to clear the fourth and fifth floors. Special forces were being lowered by helicopters onto the rooftop of the state-owned hotel, he added.

Afghan security troops arrive at the site of an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 20, 2018. /VCG Photo

No one knows exactly what was going on in the area as security forces did not allow anyone to reach the area, including the media.

The Intercontinental was targeted in June 2011 when a suicide attack claimed by the Taliban killed 21 people, including ten civilians.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency