At least six dead as gunmen attack Kabul’s InterContinental Hotel on day Chinese embassy officials attended conference
People trapped at the top of the building tied bedsheets together and climbed over balconies to escape the overnight assault
Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul and killed at least six people including a foreigner, sparking a 12-hour battle that left terrified guests scrambling to escape and parts of the building ablaze.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the six-storey Intercontinental Hotel on a hilltop overlooking the Afghan capital.
People trapped at the top of the building tied bedsheets together and climbed over balconies to escape the overnight assault.
One lost his grip and fell in dramatic television footage by Afghanistan’s Tolo News station, which also showed black smoke and flames billowing from the top of the hotel.
Special forces were lowered by helicopters during the night onto the roof of the landmark 1960s building, with Afghan security forces killing four attackers in the hours-long assault, the interior ministry said.
“Five Afghans and one foreigner have been killed,” interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said, adding around 150 people were rescued including more than 40 foreigners.
Officials said four gunmen burst into the hotel, which is not part of the global InterContinental chain, on Saturday night, opening fire on guests and staff and taking dozens of people hostage.