Global General

Police search Kabul hotel after Taliban kills 10

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-06-29 15:07

Afghan National Army soldiers march towards the Intercontinental hotel during a battle between Afghan security forces and suicide bombers and Taliban insurgents in Kabul June 29, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

KABUL - Afghan police sifted through one of Kabul's landmark hotels room by room on Wednesday for any more casualties or security threats after an overnight assault by Taliban suicide bombers killed 10 Afghan civilians and police.

The eight attackers, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons, stormed the heavily guarded Intercontinental hotel, frequented by Westerners and VIPs, before a NATO helicopter killed the remaining insurgents in a final rooftop battle that ended a raid lasting more than five hours.

Related readings:  NATO helicopters end Kabul hotel siege, 10 dead  Suicide bombers attack landmark hotel in Kabul

After several explosions, attackers entered the hotel late on Tuesday and made their way to the ballroom, a hotel receptionist said.

Some carried tape recorders playing Taliban war songs and shot at anyone they saw. Guests jumped from second and third floors to escape, the receptionist told Reuters, asking not to be identified.      

"The police are still searching room by room to see if there are any casualties or any threats," Kabul police chief Ayoub Salangi told reporters.  

Eight other people were wounded in the attack, according to an Interior Ministry statement. Two policemen were among the 10 dead.

There have been insurgent attacks at a hotel, guesthouse and a supermarket in Kabul over the past year, although the capital has been relatively quiet compared with the rest of the country.

An Afghan policeman keeps watch on a road leading to the Intercontinental hotel during a battle between Afghan security forces and suicide bombers and Taliban insurgents in Kabul June 29, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

The timing of the attack, which began late on Tuesday, carried hallmarks of other raids meant to show the Taliban still retain the ability to strike at will despite gains made by NATO-led troops over the past 18 months.

Some guests included provincial governors attending a conference due to begin later on Wednesday over the transition of civil and military responsibility from foreign forces to Afghans, two Afghan officials said.  

The raid also came a week after US President Barack Obama announced plans for an initial withdrawal of 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, with another 23,000 to leave by the end of 2012, sparking concerns the Afghan security forces were not ready to take over.