KABUL: A Taliban attack on a Kabul hotel housing foreign contractors ended Monday after all three Taliban fighters were killed, around seven hours after the assault began, police said.
"The operation is over now. One policeman lost his life and three others were wounded but none of the hotel staff or guests were hurt," Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told reporters.
The powerful Taliban truck bomb struck a guesthouse housing foreigners in Kabul. Northgate, close to the US-run Bagram air base north of Kabul, houses foreign contractors and is a heavily guarded compound with blast walls and watchtowers.
The Taliban said the truck bomb at a guest house belonging to "American invaders" paved the way for their fighters to enter the facility with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.
The attack comes as the Taliban ramp up their annual summer offensive after a brief lull during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which ended earlier this month.
The attack comes after twin bombings left 80 people dead+ in the Afghan capital on July 23, in the deadliest attack in the city since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001. The bombings tore through crowds of minority Shiite Hazara protesters as they gathered to demand that a major power line be routed through the central province of Bamiyan, one of the most deprived areas of Afghanistan.
That assault was claimed by the Islamic State group+ , which is making gradual inroads into Afghanistan, challenging the Taliban on their own turf.
Afghan forces backed by US airstrikes have since ramped up an offensive against IS jihadists in their eastern stronghold of Nangarhar.
The latest attack highlights growing insecurity in Afghanistan, which has resulted in large civilian casualties.
#Kabul guest house attack ends, police say three Taliban attackers and one policeman dead
#None of the guest house staff or guests were injured in the attack
#The attack comes close on the heels of the deadliest attack in Kabul in 15 years that killed over 80 people
"The operation is over now. One policeman lost his life and three others were wounded but none of the hotel staff or guests were hurt," Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told reporters.
The powerful Taliban truck bomb struck a guesthouse housing foreigners in Kabul. Northgate, close to the US-run Bagram air base north of Kabul, houses foreign contractors and is a heavily guarded compound with blast walls and watchtowers.
The Taliban said the truck bomb at a guest house belonging to "American invaders" paved the way for their fighters to enter the facility with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.
The attack comes as the Taliban ramp up their annual summer offensive after a brief lull during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which ended earlier this month.
The attack comes after twin bombings left 80 people dead+ in the Afghan capital on July 23, in the deadliest attack in the city since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001. The bombings tore through crowds of minority Shiite Hazara protesters as they gathered to demand that a major power line be routed through the central province of Bamiyan, one of the most deprived areas of Afghanistan.
That assault was claimed by the Islamic State group+ , which is making gradual inroads into Afghanistan, challenging the Taliban on their own turf.
Afghan forces backed by US airstrikes have since ramped up an offensive against IS jihadists in their eastern stronghold of Nangarhar.
The latest attack highlights growing insecurity in Afghanistan, which has resulted in large civilian casualties.
#Kabul guest house attack ends, police say three Taliban attackers and one policeman dead
#None of the guest house staff or guests were injured in the attack
#The attack comes close on the heels of the deadliest attack in Kabul in 15 years that killed over 80 people
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