AFGHANISTAN:Taliban militants stormed Kabul's leading luxury hotel last night, killing four people and wounding six, including several Norwegians, in a significant escalation of insurgent tactics against foreign civilians in Afghanistan.
The Norwegian foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Stoere, and other guests fled into the basement of the five-star Serena hotel as the attackers struck with grenades, guns and at least one suicide bomb.
The militants forced their way through a heavily fortified gate by lobbing grenades at guards and rushed towards the lobby. A few moments later a loud explosion boomed across the city.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, admitted responsibility shortly afterwards. He said the group comprised a suicide bomber and three gunmen who escaped afterwards.
The claim could not be verified. A western security official said one of the militants was killed by security forces before he could enter the hotel.
It was the first attack on a Kabul hotel since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. Until now suicide bombers have mostly targeted western and Afghan military personnel, although many civilians have died in the blasts.
"We've never seen a suicide attack against an explicitly soft target in Kabul," said UN spokesman Adrian Edwards, whose office is nearby. "If it turns out this was the Taliban and if it turns out their target was civilians, it would be a very worrying development."
American military humvees and ambulances rushed towards the Serena, which is located at a major traffic junction near the presidency and several government ministries. Early accounts of the attack were confused and estimates of the dead ranged as high as six.
Two Norwegians - a journalist and a foreign ministry employee - were seriously injured. An Oslo newspaper, Dagbladet, named the reporter as Carsten Thomassen. "The bleeding has stopped but we don't have any certain confirmation of his condition," the editor said in a statement. The Norwegian minister, Mr Stoere, escaped unscathed.
About 500 Norwegian soldiers are deployed to Afghanistan as part of the Nato mission.
The Serena is frequented by diplomats, journalists and dignitaries. When it opened in 2006 the hotel, which is part-owned by the Aga Khan Foundation, was hailed as a sign of progress since the fall of the Taliban.