Kabul: Afghan forces 'end Intercontinental Hotel siege'

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42763517

Kabul: Afghan forces 'end Intercontinental Hotel siege'

15 minutes ago


A 12-hour siege of a luxury hotel by gunmen in the Afghan capital has come to an end, security forces say.

Six civilians, including a foreign woman, died at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, along with three attackers, the interior ministry said. Some 160 people were rescued after Afghan troops fought through the night to regain control of the building.

But some reports suggested gunfire had continued for some time after the authorities declared the siege over. Afghan news agency Tolo says the death toll could be higher than the official figure, quoting a reporter who said they had seen dozens of bodies inside the hotel.

Afghan airline Kam Air told local journalist Bilal Sarwary it had 42 members of staff in the hotel, some of whom are foreign nationals; 18 are still missing with five feared dead.

The Taliban, which targeted the hotel in 2011, says it was behind the latest attack. A spokesman said in a statement quoted by AFP that the group had "killed tens of foreign invaders and their puppets". The gunmen burst into the six-floor hotel at around 21:00 local time (16:30GMT) on Saturday evening, as guests were enjoying dinner.
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