At least three attackers have been reportedly killed by security forces after they opened fire at a Kabul hotel popular with Chinese nationals, according to a spokesperson for the Taliban-run Afghanistan administration.
The unidentified gunmen launch the attack on the multi-storey Kabul Longan Hotel on Monday, with witnesses reporting multiple blasts and several bursts of gunfire.
Smoke could be seen billowing out from the building as Taliban security forces rushed to the site and sealed off the neighbourhood.
While the firing was continuing in the hotel on Monday, a fire also broke out on one of the floors, according to witnesses.
A video posted on Twitter by a journalist in Kabul, verified by Reuters, showed smoke coming out of a multi-storey building, with one lower floor on fire.
The attack took place around 2:30 pm local time (0130 GMT) when the armed
men targeted the hotel where “common people were staying”, Kabul
police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said, adding that forces were
trying to secure the area.
The attack came a day after China’s ambassador met the
Afghan deputy foreign minister to discuss security-related
matters and sought more attention on the security of its
embassy.
READ MORE:
Several dead as blast targets vehicle in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the
attack took place near a Chinese guesthouse, and that its embassy
in Kabul was closely monitoring the situation.
The embassy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request
for comment.
The Taliban claim to have improved security since coming back to power in August last year. But there have been scores of bomb blasts and attacks, many claimed by a Daesh-inspired group.
READ MORE: Afghanistan nabs ‘foreign Daesh member’ linked to Pakistan embassy attack
Be First to Comment