The deadly assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul on Saturday began with the gunmen enjoying dinner before pulling out their weapons and suddenly…
The deadly assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul on Saturday began with the gunmen enjoying dinner before pulling out their weapons and suddenly screaming, “Where are the foreigners?” witnesses said.
Fourteen foreigners – including pilots and other crew members of Kam Air — and four Afghans were killed during more than the 12-hour siege that left at least three of the six gunmen dead, Afghan officials said. Local news outlets reported a death toll of at least 43, with dozens more wounded.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which began around 9 p.m. when dinner service was in full swing.
It was the second time the 200-room state-owned hotel was the site of carnage: An attack by insurgents in 2011 left 21 dead.
A server named Haseeb told Tolo News that two of the gunmen sauntered up to him.
“They were wearing very stylish clothes,” he said.
“They came to me and asked for food. I served them the food, and they thanked me and took their seats. Then they took out their weapons and started shooting the people.”
The BBC quotes an unnamed witness who said he was having dinner with his son when he heard one of the gunmen shout: “Where are the foreigners?”
The witness said he heard the terrorist say, “I’m Afghan” before he and the others started to run around looking for people to assassinate.
The witness said one of the gunmen pointed his AK-47 at him, but when he told them he was Afghan, his life was spared.
Kabul police told reporters that nine Ukrainians, one German, one Greek and one Kazakh citizen were confirmed dead.
Also reportedly killed were Venezuelan pilots and Ukrainian crew members working for the Afghan carrier Kam Air.
Once hotel guests realized they were under siege, they either hid under their beds or tried to escape — and several guests were pictured using bed sheets to climb down from a top-floor balcony.
About 160 people managed to flee or were rescued by elite forces, who went from room to room in what the New York Times described as a “clearance operation” that was still going on Sunday evening.
Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Minister, said: “Our investigation teams are searching and working room by room to find out exact casualties and information.”
Danish told other media outlets that the recent decision to transfer hotel security to a private company had been a mistake.
Dramatic images on Afghan TV showed thick black smoke and flames rising from the imposing hilltop hotel.
The Taliban didn’t declare responsibility for the latest attack until 14 hours after it had begun.
The Afghan government blamed the Haqqani Network, a particularly brutal arm of the Taliban.
“The attack was carried out by #Pakistan based Haqqani Terrorist Network,” Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the Afghan government’s chief executive, said on Twitter .
Faisal used the platform to praise the rescue effort.
He also said all six suicide bombers had been killed, but that hadn’t been verified.
