A Taliban truck bomb attack and gunfight at a foreign hotel in Kabul on Monday has reignited security concerns in the Afghan capital, despite no civilian casualties being reported. At least one police officer died in a 6-hour shootout with the terrorists
Heavy gunfire and the sound of small, grenade-like explosions were reported from the Northgate hotel as special forces apparently stormed the compound.
Local security forces have confirmed the death of all of the assailants, saying that there had been three, Kabul-based broadcaster TOLOnews reported.
An Afghan official said that country’s special forces immediate swung into the action.
Two of the attackers were gunned down by police, while another died in an explosion. One police officer was killed and two were wounded during the raid, while two members of an elite army unit suffered injuries.
The operation, which took over 6 hours, ended early in the morning.
There appeared to be no casualties among the hotel staff or guests, TOLOnews said citing a hotel source.
A large explosion took place in the area at around 1:30 am local time. The blast has been described on Twitter as being so loud that it woke up people “all over the city.”
The terrorists managed to detonate explosives on the premises of the heavily guarded hotel by duping security into believing that they had run out of fuel and need help, TOLOnews reported, citing a source. After the security guards moved to assist the perpetrators, at least two assailants detonated explosive devices.
