Kabul: Taliban claims responsibility for attack that killed 14, including 4 Indians

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and offered his condolences over the loss of lives in the Kabul guesthouse siege in which four Indians and an American were among those killed.

PM expresses solidarity

Spoke to President @ashrafghani & offered condolences on loss of lives due to the Kabul attack. We are one when it comes to fighting terror.

Spoke to President @ashrafghani & offered condolences on loss of lives due to the Kabul attack. We are one when it comes to fighting terror.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 14, 2015

President @ashrafghani expressed sadness on the unfortunate demise of Indian citizens in the attack in Kabul.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 14, 2015

Also earlier,Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account said he was “concerned about the situation (and) I pray for everyone’s safety.”

Taliban claims responsibility

The Taliban on Thursday claimed responsibility for the attack on a Kabul guesthouse that killed at least five people, including an American and four Indians in one of the most audacious assaults by the insurgents in the Afghan capital since the start of their spring offensive.

By mid-morning Thursday, it appeared the death toll may be higher as India’s ambassador to Afghanistan told The Associated Press that at least seven foreign nationals were among the dead, though he had no further details and Afghan officials could not immediately be reached for new information.

Indian Ambassador the target

Taliban gunmen stormed the Park Palace Guesthouse in the Afghan capital thinking that Indian Ambassador Amar Sinha was inside the complex, popular among foreign nationals, as the attack ended early Thursday morning after hours-long siege.

Ambassador Amar Sinha confirmed on Thursday that four Indian nationals were also among the dead - three men and a woman. He said they were among a total of 11 Indians resident at the guesthouse, none of whom are embassy personnel

Number of gunmen disputed

PTI reported the attack started last night when three gunmen launched a brazen assault at the guesthouse, located in the Kolola Pushta area of the Kabul city.

However, according an AP report, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed, in an email distributed to the media, only one attacker was involved, armed with a Kalashnikov rifle, a suicide vest and a pistol — not three as the Afghan government reported. The Taliban often exaggerate their claims, said the report.

Mujahid also said the group had targeted the hotel because of the presence of foreigners, including Americans there.

The Siege

The attack began around 8:30 p.m. local time when the gunmen opened fire at the hotel restaurant, according to Kabul police chief Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi. He had no breakdown on the nationalities of the victims, but U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Monica Cummings said in an email statement that a U.S. citizen was killed in the attack, although she had no further details and did not identify the victim

Cummings said the U.S. Embassy was in close contact with Afghan authorities and was working to obtain more information. “Our thoughts are with the families of the victims,” she said.

Throughout the standoff, sporadic gunfire echoed around the guesthouse in a central neighborhood that is home to United Nations compounds and a foreign-run hospital. At one point, two explosions could be heard and four ambulances later arrived to the scene.

Amin Habib, a U.S. citizen from Los Angeles, told the AP that a party was going on at the hotel to honor a Canadian when the gunmen stormed the guesthouse. He said dozens of people, including foreigners and U.S. citizens, were inside the hotel at the time.

The Response

Soon after the gunmen stormed the guest house, Afghan National Security Forces including Special Forces arrived and began striking back the attackers and also rescuing those under siege inside the guesthouse. At least six people were wounded and 54 hostages rescued, according to Afghan officials.

Hours after the standoff began, fire trucks arrived at the scene, with firefighters saying they were called in to clear and secure the area. A number of people were seen leaving the building. Police initially freed some 20 people trapped in the guesthouse, but others had remained inside, according to Zia Massoud, an Afghan government official.

The hotel has both guest rooms for visitors and a residential area for those who live full time in Kabul, including foreign aid workers.

Afghan security forces have been struggling to fend off Taliban attacks since U.S. and NATO forces formally concluded their combat mission at the end of last year.

All attackers were killed in the siege that lasted for about seven hours, ending in the wee hours of this morning.

Agencies