Suicide bomber hits Kabul hotel

[Ahmad]

A suicide bomber has killed at least three people and wounded several others in an attack on a Kabul hotel hit by a similar assault nearly a year ago.

Afghan and western officials said the man detonated his explosives at the entrance to the Safi Landmark hotel in the centre of the city. Gunshots were heard soon after the blast.

"Three guards were killed, two civilians have been wounded and one is missing, after the suicide bomber blew himself up," said a police official who asked not to be named, as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Shops on the first floors of the hotel were damaged by the bomb.

"It was a huge blast, that deafened me," said Tamim Mehraj, whose gemstone shop is metres from the site of the explosion. "The windows have been blown out and the shop is damaged."

A western military official said initial concerns that a second suicide bomber was part of the assault plan had not been confirmed.

Suicide bomber hits Kabul hotel | World news | The Guardian

 

[Ahmad]

Two security guards and an insurgent were killed in an attack in the Afghan capital Kabul, officials say.

Reports said the blast occurred just inside a shopping complex in the city centre after an attacker carrying explosives was challenged by guards.

A gun battle which broke out following the explosion has now ended.

It is the second attack in less than three weeks in the heavily fortified Afghan capital, after nine died in an attack on a supermarket on 28 January.

The Taliban told the BBC they had carried out that attack.
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At the scene
Paul Wood BBC News, Kabul

Worried relatives clustered around the twisted metal which marked the entrance to the shopping centre - looking for family members inside. In fact, none of the shoppers, workers or hotel guests were hurt.

They were saved by the two security guards at the front door who fought a brief gun battle with the suicide attacker before he detonated himself or was exploded by bullets.

This is the second attack in Kabul in two weeks. The capital had been enjoying a year of relative calm. That now appears to have come to an end.

There are various theories as to why. One is that the Taliban-affiliated group blamed for most attacks in Kabul - the Haqqani network - had been observing a unilateral ceasefire, but is no longer doing so. Another theory - from intelligence sources - is that there is a new Taliban splinter group which is seeking to make its mark.

Monday's attack is thought to have begun when an attacker was challenged by security guards as he attempted to gain access to the shopping precinct, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul.

The guards fired on the assailant, and the explosives he was carrying were detonated.

"It was a single blast," interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP news agency.

"A suicide bomber tried to enter the mall. He was stopped by the guards at the entrance, he blew himself up and killed the two armed private guards and injured two other people nearby," he said.

Immediately after the blast there was an exchange of gunfire between insurgents and security forces that continued for up to 20 minutes, our correspondent says, but that has now ended and police have cordoned off the area.
Afghan policemen arrive near the site of suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Feb, 14, 2011 A gun battle broke out in the centre of Kabul after the blasts

Until the attack on the supermarket at the end of January, our correspondent says, things had been less violent in Kabul - which some observers put down to an informal ceasefire operating between the main insurgent network and security forces.

All of this is happening as the Afghan government -- with Nato sponsorship -- is trying to reach out to elements in the Taliban command who it is though might be ready to talk peace.

The implication of today's bomb attack is that others in the Taliban do not want such talks to take place and will act accordingly.

 

[EastWest]

Y this hotel targeted? any foreign nationals staying there?

 

[Ahmad]

i have mixed 2 different news. the first one was in hontel, it is used by everybody including the foreigners. the second blast was in a shopping centre popular among kabul residents.

 

[mehru]

RIP the poor victims.

Sorry Ahmed! I accidentally thanked your post. Please don't be offended.

 

[Ahmad]

RIP the poor victims.

Sorry Ahmed! I accidentally thanked your post. Please don't be offended.

No not at all, i wont be offended.

 

[Vassnti]

My prayers for the guards and their families