KABUL – An Afghan official says an assault on the Intercontinental Hotel inKabul has ended after more than 12 hours with all the attackers killed bysecurity forces.
The Taliban claimed the attack, which began late Saturday, saying fivegunmen armed with suicide vests targeted foreigners and Afghan officials.
Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the last attacker was killedSunday afternoon, more than 12 hours after the attack began. He says theattack killed six people, including a foreigner and a telecommunicationsofficial from the western Farah province who was attending a conference.
Six others, including three security forces, were wounded in the attack onthe heavily guarded luxury hotel popular with foreigners and Afghanofficials.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgents initially plannedto attack the hotel Thursday night but postponed the assault because therewas a wedding underway and they wanted to avoid civilian casualties.
An Afghan official says a roadside bomb has killed at least 12 civilians inthe western Herat province.
Abdul Ahad Walizada, a spokesman for the provincial police chief, says a13th person was wounded in the explosion early Sunday, which struck avehicle in the Gulran district.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Walizadablamed Taliban insurgents, who often plant roadside bombs to target Afghansecurity forces.