Kabul hotel attacked by terrorists
A terrorist attack in a luxury hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, taking place between the 20 and 21 January has left at least 22 dead. Afghan and western security forces were able to regain control of the building after a 14-hour siege. Afghan officials have said that 14 of the casualties were foreign.
Witnesses say that the gunmen – dressed in army uniforms – entered the Intercontinental hotel heading first to the restaurant and shooting those who tried to escape, before heading to hotel rooms and taking guests as hostages. An un-named hotel employee told Agence France-Presse that the hotel’s security team fled immediately.
More than 150 guests were rescued from the hotel on the night of the 20 January, as flames spread throughout the hotel due to grenades let off inside. Some tied bedsheets together and climbed down the building’s exterior.
The Taliban has claimed that five of the gunmen belonging to the group were responsible for the attacks, whilst the Afghan interior ministry has blamed the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network. The hotel is often frequented by foreigners and government officials and was thought to be secure.
Afghan airline Kam Air has said that around 40 of its crew were staying in the hotel, claiming that as many as 10 had been killed in the attack.