Video: Fatal attack on Kabul hotel popular with Chinese nationals
Afghan security forces have killed at least three attackers after opening fire on a Kabul hotel popular with Chinese nationals, a spokesman for the ruling Taliban said.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire inside the high-rise Kabul Longan Hotel in central Kabul on Monday, with witnesses reporting several explosions and several gunshots.
The attack has now ended and no foreigners were killed, although two of them were injured when they tried to escape the attack by jumping from the hotel balcony, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
An emergency hospital in Kabul, run by an Italian non-profit organization near the attacked hotel in the Shahr-e-Naw area, reported 21 casualties – 18 wounded and three dead on arrival.
Later on Monday, ISIL (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel.
The group said two of its employees “attacked a large hotel frequented by Chinese diplomats and businessmen in Kabul, detonating two explosive devices hidden in two bags”, one targeting a party for Chinese guests and the other the reception hall.
While the shooting continued inside the hotel, a fire broke out on one of its floors, sources told the Reuters news agency.
A video posted on Twitter by a journalist in Kabul, verified by Reuters, shows smoke billowing from the building.
The attack occurred around 2:30 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) when gunmen attacked a hotel where “ordinary people were,” said Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran, adding that forces were trying to secure the area.
Residents of the area said the attack was carried out in a building where Chinese and other foreigners usually stay. The firing resumed after they heard a loud explosion, they said.
Attack on a hotel in Kabul
A view of the Kabul Longan Hotel in the Shahr-e-Naw district of Kabul, Afghanistan [Reuters]
The attack came a day after the Chinese ambassador met with Afghanistan’s deputy foreign minister to discuss security-related matters and focused on the security of his embassy.
