Taliban gunmen attack popular Kabul hotel

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By msnbc.com news services

Updated at 9 p.m. ET: Afghan Taliban gunmen, some armed with rocket propelled grenades and heavy machine guns, have attacked a hotel at Kabul's popular Qargha Lake recreation area, triggering a gun battle in darkness, Afghan police said on Friday.

"It would be very easy for police to kill them, but we are afraid because there are civilians, including women and children, trapped inside. We are waiting for daylight," said General Mohammad Zahir, head of the Kabul police investigation unit. Afghan police did not know how many were in the hotel or the number of casualties.

"According to the information we have, they have martyred some of them," Zahir said, meaning an unknown number of civilians had been killed.

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The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying wealthy Afghans and foreigners used the hotel to have "wild parties" in the lead up to the Friday religious day holiday.

The attack recalls the Taliban commando takeover a year ago of the Intercontinental Hotel on a Kabul hillside that left at least 19 dead, according to news reports at the time. Like the Spozhmai Hotel, the Intercontinental was favored by well-heeled Afghans more than foreigners.

Attacks across Afghanistan have surged in recent days, with three U.S. soldiers and more than a dozen civilians killed in successive attacks, mostly in the country's east, which has so far been a focus for NATO-led forces during the summer fighting months.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a speech to a special session of parliament on Thursday that attacks by insurgents against local police and soldiers were increasing as foreign combat troops prepare to exit the country in 2014.

Afghan insurgents attacked Kabul's heavily-protected diplomatic and government district on April 15 in an assault eventually quelled by Afghan special forces, guided by Western mentors.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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