Many Dead in Suicide Attack on Hotel in Afghan Capital

Many Dead in Suicide Attack on Hotel in Afghan Capital
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: February 26, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/world/asia/27kabul.html?th&emc=th


KABUL, Afghanistan — At least 17 people were killed and 32 wounded early Friday when several suicide bombers attacked a hotel popular with foreigners and the surrounding area in the center of Kabul, police officials said.

News reports said the Taliban took responsibility for the attack, which came despite a major offensive by American-led coalition forces against militants in the southern province of Helmand, a central element in President Obama’s strategy in rural Afghanistan.

One of the bombers detonated his vest, according to the police, who were still engaged in a firefight with the attackers 90 minutes later.

The attack was the fourth assault on the capital since October.

“A few suicide bombers attacked the Safi Landmark hotel, and there is still a firefight between them and our security forces going on,” said Gen. Sayed Ghafar, the chief of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Kabul police.

He put the death toll at 17 — a relatively high figure for attacks in central Kabul — and said the dead included several foreigners, mainly Indians. News reports said four Indians died in the attack. The hotel is used mainly by foreigners, including Britons and Americans.

The wounded included some police officers, General Ghafar said.

The attack began with a large explosion that shook the city center, damaging the high-rise hotel, shortly after 6:30 a.m. That was followed by gunfire and two smaller explosions. It was not clear if the later explosions were from the attackers or from the police launching grenades.

“I looked out at the gate, but there was no gate,” said Manuwar Shah, 20, who was standing at the reception desk when the attack started. “It had been blown off.” Then, he said, he ran into a room before taking shelter in the hotel basement and was trapped there during the fighting.

This was the second major attack in Kabul this year. The first one took place Jan. 18, when seven gunmen attacked a popular shopping center and several surrounding buildings near the presidential palace and a hotel favored by westerners.

Reuters quoted a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, as saying “holy warriors” had “managed to attack in the heart of Kabul city once again.” He was speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location.

The spokesman said at least five Taliban fighters launched the attack, including two suicide bombers who detonated explosives-packed vests near the hotel and a shopping mall, Reuters reported.

The attack reflected an accelerating trend over the past year for the Taliban to spill out of rural areas, where the overwhelming majority of United States troops are deployed in small outposts in the countryside. On most days, the capital is calm.

But a series of attacks has demoralized Afghans as militants seek to spread the impression that virtually no part of the country is immune from the conflict.

One year ago, militants attacked the Ministry of Justice, killing guards and stalking the halls for victims. Apart from insurgents, at least 10 people died

In October, militants wearing suicide belts attacked a United Nations guesthouse in Kabul and killed eight people, including five of the organization’s workers. In December, a suicide car bomber struck the Heetal Hotel, killing eight people and wounding 48. That was followed by the Jan. 18 attack in which seven people were killed.

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