(AP Photo/Rahmat Gul). Smokes rises from the Intercontinental Hotel after an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018. Gunmen stormed the hotel in the Afghan capital on Saturday evening, triggering a shootout with security forces, officials ...
(AP Photo/Rahmat Gul). Smokes rises from the Intercontinental Hotel after an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018. Gunmen stormed the hotel in the Afghan capital on Saturday evening, triggering a shootout with security forces, officials ...
(AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini). A security personnel points his weapon near the Intercontinental Hotel after a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. An Afghan official says that a group of gunmen have attacked the Intercontinental ...
(AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini). Policemen block the main road near the Intercontinental Hotel after a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. An Afghan official says that a group of gunmen have attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in ...
(AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini). Policemen block the main road near the Intercontinental Hotel after a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. An Afghan official says that a group of gunmen have attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in ...By RAHIM FAIEZ
Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Gunmen stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul at the start of an 11-hour siege that continued into Sunday morning, leaving at least five Afghan civilian dead, officials said.
Six other civilians were reported wounded and more than 100 people, including 16 foreigners, have been rescued from the hotel, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish.
The bodies of four attackers were recovered as security forces continued to clear the landmark building, he said.
"The security forces are going room-by-room to make sure that there is no any other attacker in the building," he said.
No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which started around 9 p.m. Saturday. As the fighting raged, a fire erupted in the building.
Live TV footage showed people trying to escape through windows on the fourth and fifth floors.
Capt. Tom Gresback, spokesman for NATO-led forces, said in a statement that Afghan forces were leading the response efforts. He said that according to initial reports, no foreign troops were hurt in the attack.
The Intercontinental Hotel is located on a hilltop in Bagh-e Bala area of the city and is heavily guarded because it hosts both Afghan and foreign guests as well as official conferences. It was last attacked by Taliban insurgents in 2011.
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