Militants storm upscale area in Kabul
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Version 0 of 1. KABUL — Heavily armed militants stormed an upscale Kabul neighborhood Tuesday night, resulting in a fierce gun battle and a series of explosions that continued until dawn. Police said the attack took place in the city’s Wazir Akbar Khan area, at the base of a large hill that overlooks central Kabul. According to news agency reports that cited the Afghan Interior Ministry, there were four attackers and all of them were killed. There were no police or civilian casualties, Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayub Salangi told the Associated Press. Salangi said weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, three automatic rifles and a hand grenade, were seized, according to the reports. According to diplomatic officials, preliminary reports indicated that a small hotel used by foreigners was the intended target. Several foreign embassies are also in that area. The attack began about 11 p.m. local time and continued into early Wednesday. Residents across Kabul could hear continual gunfire and explosions. Some journalists nearby said they heard at least 20 explosions. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, Reuters reported. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy said all personnel had been accounted for and were safe. If the hotel was the intended target, it would mark the second major assault on a Kabul hotel in less than two weeks. On May 13, a gunman opened fire inside the Park Palace Hotel in central Kabul, killing 14 guests. The dead included 10 foreigners, including one American. The Taliban took credit for the attack. For much of the 13-year war, Kabul was relatively immune to violence. But insurgents have been escalating their attacks on foreigners who live and work in the capital. In January 2014, several gunmen stormed a popular Lebanese restaurant, killing 21 people, mostly foreigners. Three months later, four Taliban gunmen entered Kabul’s only four-star hotel, the Serena, and killed nine people, including four foreigners. Several smaller hotels — referred to locally as guesthouses — have also been attacked over the past two years. The attack Tuesday night comes as Afghan security forces have struggled to respond to bloody attacks in nearly every corner of the country. On Monday, insurgents stormed a police station in southern Kandahar province, killing 19 police officers and seven soldiers, the Associated Press reported. Also Monday, at least four people were killed and more than 60 others wounded when a suicide bomber detonated near a market in Zabul province in southeastern Afghanistan. And earlier on Tuesday, four suicide bombers attacked a provincial court building in Wardak province, killing two police officers. The Afghan army is also engaged in fierce battles with Taliban militants in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan and Uruzgan province in the central part of the country. Adding to the instability, clashes are also erupting between Taliban fighters and militants loyal to the Islamic State, which is trying to gain a foothold in Afghanistan. The two groups have been fighting for control of some rural districts that have historically lacked the writ of the government. Mohammad Sharif contributed to this report. Read More Suicide bomber sets off powerful blast targeting Afghan Justice Ministry Afghan forces straining to keep the expanding Taliban at bay |