26/11-Style Attack on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel
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Solid Beast
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Wow. be careful Mr. ISI might target you like they targeted your journalist.
Solid Beast
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Solid Beast
Regular Member
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hey, I thought your are a Pakistani. I remember seeing a Pak flag. Well you are safe then.Anyways, someone prove to me I'm a Pakistani in the first place.
AirforcePilot
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8 suicide bombers, 10 others killed in attack at Kabul hotel
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Eight suicide bombers and 10 others are dead after a brazen, carefully-orchestrated attack that the Taliban has claimed responsibility for, officials said.
Two police officers are among those killed in the attack that began late Tuesday night and carried into Wednesday, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry.
"As a result of Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army and Coalition force's fast reaction and by air support of the NATO forces, eight suicide bombers were killed," the ministry said in a statement.
Mohammad Zahir, chief of criminal investigations for Kabul police, said Wednesday morning that casualty figures could rise.
"We are still searching the hotel; the death number may increase," Zahir said. Twelve people were injured, he added.
Interior Minister Bismullah Khan said "the situation is secure."
The attack came on the eve of a news conference that was scheduled to take place at the hotel Wednesday to discuss the planned transition of security from international to Afghan forces that U.S. President Barack Obama announced last week.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said in an e-mail that the suicide attackers entered the hotel after killing security guards at the entrance.
"One of the suicide attackers told us on the phone that they are in the lobby and chasing guests into their rooms by smashing the doors of the rooms," Mujahid told CNN in an e-mail he sent as the incident was unfolding.
He said the Taliban was aware some guests at the hotel were preparing for a conference.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack in a statement, blaming it on "terrorists."
"These people have no mercy on killings of civilians."
Karzai praised the quick reaction of Afghan security forces and said such attacks will not interrupt the power handover from international forces to the Afghan forces.
The top of the hotel was on fire Wednesday morning, but flames went out within a few hours. Smoke continued to rise from the building several hours later.
Saiz Ahmed, a U.S. citizen in Kabul for a doctorate project, was among the guests who left the hotel.
"I'm sure none of us thought we were going to make it," he said after having stayed on the floor of his darkened bedroom for more than five hours listening to gunfire and occasional bomb blasts. "I wrote my little will -- just in case."
The Taliban penetrated the hotel's typically heavy security in the attack, and one of them detonated an explosive on the second floor, said Erin Cunningham, a journalist for The Daily in Kabul.
Rocket-propelled grenades were launched from the roof of the hotel toward the first vice president's house. A few moments later, the hotel was rocked by three explosions, one of which knocked her off her feet, Cunningham said. U.S. forces were on the scene, she added.
At about 2 a.m., four hours after the attack began, NATO International Security Assistance Force helicopters fired at insurgents on the roof, killing as many as three of the gunmen, ISAF spokesman Maj. Tim James told CNN.
At about 3 a.m., ISAF said, Afghan security forces had cleared the roof and were clearing the rest of the hotel.
"The last suicide attacker was killed at around 7 a.m. during the search operation," Interior Ministry spokesman Sidiq Sidiqi said.
At least one of the attackers had detonated his explosives, said Afghan Lt. Gen. Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, the city's chief of police.
There were no indications that U.S. military or diplomatic personnel were at the hotel, U.S. officials told CNN.
Members of the Afghan National Security Forces were on the scene, but the city police had the lead, ISAF Maj. Jason Waggoner said in a statement. Waggoner said ISAF forces provided "some limited assistance."
The United States condemned the attack on the hotel, with State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland saying it "once again demonstrates the terrorists' complete disregard for human life."
Obama was briefed on the attack while en route back to Washington from Iowa, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
The hotel was developed by the InterContinental Hotels Group and opened in 1969. But it has had no association with the group since the Soviet invasion in 1979, though it continues to use the name and logo without connection to the parent company.
The attack came a day after representatives from more than 50 counties attended a two-day International Contact Group conference in Kabul, according to Janan Mussazai, spokesman for the minister of foreign affairs.
He said "the role of neighboring countries in Afghan peace efforts, security handover, peace talks and strategic partnership between Afghanistan and the international community beyond 2014 were discussed in this conference."
The incident also came on the same day that Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell announced that NATO and other members of the international community involved in Afghanistan have decided to increase the number of security forces in the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police to 352,000.
The current number of Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police is about 300,000, the commander of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan and commanding general of the Combined Security Transition Command told the Atlanta Press Club.
The increased number will be sufficient to give the Afghans security without coalition forces having to do it, he said.
Tuesday's attack stirred memories of the January 2008 attack at the Serena Hotel in Kabul, which killed seven people. The Taliban also claimed responsibility for that attack.
And in November 2008, attacks on luxury hotels in Mumbai, India, left more than 160 dead. Nine of the 10 gunmen who launched the attacks were also killed.
Officials said the gunmen targeted the Oberoi and the Taj Mahal hotels for their popularity with international travelers and tourists. The Taj Mahal was set afire.
The three-day stand-off between gunmen and police ended with the capture of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving gunman. Kasab was sentenced to death in 2010 and is awaiting an appeal of the decision to the Supreme Court in New Delhi. India said Kasab has told investigators that he and the others were trained for more than a year in Pakistan by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a banned Islamic militant group.
8 suicide bombers, 10 others killed in attack at Kabul hotel - CNN.com
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Eight suicide bombers and 10 others are dead after a brazen, carefully-orchestrated attack that the Taliban has claimed responsibility for, officials said.
Two police officers are among those killed in the attack that began late Tuesday night and carried into Wednesday, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry.
"As a result of Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army and Coalition force's fast reaction and by air support of the NATO forces, eight suicide bombers were killed," the ministry said in a statement.
Mohammad Zahir, chief of criminal investigations for Kabul police, said Wednesday morning that casualty figures could rise.
"We are still searching the hotel; the death number may increase," Zahir said. Twelve people were injured, he added.
Interior Minister Bismullah Khan said "the situation is secure."
The attack came on the eve of a news conference that was scheduled to take place at the hotel Wednesday to discuss the planned transition of security from international to Afghan forces that U.S. President Barack Obama announced last week.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said in an e-mail that the suicide attackers entered the hotel after killing security guards at the entrance.
"One of the suicide attackers told us on the phone that they are in the lobby and chasing guests into their rooms by smashing the doors of the rooms," Mujahid told CNN in an e-mail he sent as the incident was unfolding.
He said the Taliban was aware some guests at the hotel were preparing for a conference.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack in a statement, blaming it on "terrorists."
"These people have no mercy on killings of civilians."
Karzai praised the quick reaction of Afghan security forces and said such attacks will not interrupt the power handover from international forces to the Afghan forces.
The top of the hotel was on fire Wednesday morning, but flames went out within a few hours. Smoke continued to rise from the building several hours later.
Saiz Ahmed, a U.S. citizen in Kabul for a doctorate project, was among the guests who left the hotel.
"I'm sure none of us thought we were going to make it," he said after having stayed on the floor of his darkened bedroom for more than five hours listening to gunfire and occasional bomb blasts. "I wrote my little will -- just in case."
The Taliban penetrated the hotel's typically heavy security in the attack, and one of them detonated an explosive on the second floor, said Erin Cunningham, a journalist for The Daily in Kabul.
Rocket-propelled grenades were launched from the roof of the hotel toward the first vice president's house. A few moments later, the hotel was rocked by three explosions, one of which knocked her off her feet, Cunningham said. U.S. forces were on the scene, she added.
At about 2 a.m., four hours after the attack began, NATO International Security Assistance Force helicopters fired at insurgents on the roof, killing as many as three of the gunmen, ISAF spokesman Maj. Tim James told CNN.
At about 3 a.m., ISAF said, Afghan security forces had cleared the roof and were clearing the rest of the hotel.
"The last suicide attacker was killed at around 7 a.m. during the search operation," Interior Ministry spokesman Sidiq Sidiqi said.
At least one of the attackers had detonated his explosives, said Afghan Lt. Gen. Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, the city's chief of police.
There were no indications that U.S. military or diplomatic personnel were at the hotel, U.S. officials told CNN.
Members of the Afghan National Security Forces were on the scene, but the city police had the lead, ISAF Maj. Jason Waggoner said in a statement. Waggoner said ISAF forces provided "some limited assistance."
The United States condemned the attack on the hotel, with State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland saying it "once again demonstrates the terrorists' complete disregard for human life."
Obama was briefed on the attack while en route back to Washington from Iowa, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
The hotel was developed by the InterContinental Hotels Group and opened in 1969. But it has had no association with the group since the Soviet invasion in 1979, though it continues to use the name and logo without connection to the parent company.
The attack came a day after representatives from more than 50 counties attended a two-day International Contact Group conference in Kabul, according to Janan Mussazai, spokesman for the minister of foreign affairs.
He said "the role of neighboring countries in Afghan peace efforts, security handover, peace talks and strategic partnership between Afghanistan and the international community beyond 2014 were discussed in this conference."
The incident also came on the same day that Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell announced that NATO and other members of the international community involved in Afghanistan have decided to increase the number of security forces in the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police to 352,000.
The current number of Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police is about 300,000, the commander of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan and commanding general of the Combined Security Transition Command told the Atlanta Press Club.
The increased number will be sufficient to give the Afghans security without coalition forces having to do it, he said.
Tuesday's attack stirred memories of the January 2008 attack at the Serena Hotel in Kabul, which killed seven people. The Taliban also claimed responsibility for that attack.
And in November 2008, attacks on luxury hotels in Mumbai, India, left more than 160 dead. Nine of the 10 gunmen who launched the attacks were also killed.
Officials said the gunmen targeted the Oberoi and the Taj Mahal hotels for their popularity with international travelers and tourists. The Taj Mahal was set afire.
The three-day stand-off between gunmen and police ended with the capture of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving gunman. Kasab was sentenced to death in 2010 and is awaiting an appeal of the decision to the Supreme Court in New Delhi. India said Kasab has told investigators that he and the others were trained for more than a year in Pakistan by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a banned Islamic militant group.
8 suicide bombers, 10 others killed in attack at Kabul hotel - CNN.com
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Pakistan is desperate to stay as a single entity. It is breaking up as we discuss here in terms of political and economical aspects. As the specter of its disintegration grows, China will get busy searching for areas that it can administer safely enough to let its transport corridor go unharmed. The rest of Pakistan is not going to be so much a guarantee except for maybe Pakistani Punjab where the seed of their hatred for us lies.
