(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-15 15:21

Afghan police block a road leading to Serena Hotel after a suicide  bomb attack in Kabul January 14, 2008. [Agencies]

The Committee to Protect Journalists mourned Thomassen's killing, calling it a reminder of the dangers that exist in countries like Afghanistan.

A Norwegian Foreign Ministry employee was also among the wounded but was out of danger at a Kabul hospital, officials said.

Stoere, who was in the hotel basement with a Norwegian delegation at the time, said he was about to start a meeting when the explosions hit, and everyone was ordered to get on the floor for about 10 minutes.

"I don't think anyone could experience this without feeling you are in a serious situation," Stoere said on the TV-2 television network.

"Our security guards undertook an armed evacuation, where we went from corner to corner in the cellar until we reached a safe area," he told Norwegian reporters.

The U.N. secretary-general said Stoere was the target but did not say why.

"They do not care whoever, whatever. This is really a serious crime against humanity," Ban told several reporters at U.N. headquarters.

The 177-room Serena is a newly built luxury hotel frequently used by foreign embassies for meetings, parties and dinners. The nicest hotel in the city, visiting Westerners often stay, eat and work out there. Located in downtown Kabul, it is near the presidential palace, although separated by fences, blast walls and checkpoints. It is also near several government ministries and a district police station.

On its Web site, the hotel bills itself as an "oasis of luxury in a war-ravaged city." The Serena has a double-gated entrance for cars, several armed guards and a metal detector at the entrance.

"In the wake of this attack, the management will strive to further reinforce the security in and around the hotel to prevent further attacks and ensure the safety of its guests and staff," the company said in a statement from Paris.

While the number of casualties from the attack could have been higher, the militants were still able to penetrate a well-guarded and high-profile target, a symbol of progress in an otherwise downtrodden capital.

The reverberations of the attack could be felt for months. While Western aid workers, embassy employees and businessmen enjoy a fair amount of freedom of movement in Kabul, security companies could now restrain their Western clients from visiting restaurants at night if the Taliban start targeting them.

Griffin had contacted the U.S. Embassy, which told her to not open the door to the room unless she heard an American voice. U.S. soldiers evacuated her, she said.

Stoere said Afghan President Hamid Karzai called to express his concern, and offered assistance, including accommodation in the presidential residence if needed.

Aftenposten journalist Tor Arne Andreassen told the Oslo paper's Internet edition that he heard a grenade explode and looked out a window and "could see shots being fired at the guard post by the gate."

"The plaster flew around our room and the whole building shook," Andreassen said.

In 2003, a rocket exploded near the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, knocking some guests from their restaurant chairs and shattering windows. No injuries were reported.

 

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