Posted on 01/15/2008 2:29:50 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Yesterday's coordinated small-arms attack and suicide bombings at the five-star Serena hotel in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul has been traced back to a senior Taliban commander based out of northwestern Pakistan, according to Afghanistan's intelligence chief. Siraj Haqqani, the leader of the dangerous Haqqani network, has been implicated in the Serena strike.
The details of the attack are still being sorted out. At least seven people were reported killed, including two guards, three hotel employees and a Norwegian reporter. Strategic Security Solutions International, the company responsible for security at the Serena, said four attackers were involved. The Taliban fighters were dressed in police uniforms, and were equipped with suicide vests, hand grenades and AK-47 assault rifles.
Four gunmen, three dressed in what appeared to be ANP (or similar) uniforms attempted to enter the main gate at the Serena Hotel. A security guard was shot and killed. The remainder of the guards engaged the attackers and two were killed in the vicinity of the security control room at the main gate. At least three of the attackers were reportedly wearing BBIED devices. The two attackers killed at the gate, were killed when one of the devices detonated. Three guards were injured in this detonation. During the ensuing confusion, one of the attackers managed to enter the hotel and proceeded to open fire indiscriminately. The forth attacker reportedly fled. Unconfirmed reports indicate that seven people including international visitors were killed by the gunman, who may also have been using hand grenades during his attack. Attempting to leave the Hotel, the gunman was captured by a security guard and handed over to reacting police. A delegation from the Norwegian Embassy, were meeting in the hotel at the time of the attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at longwarjournal.org ...
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U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the Norwegian foreign minister, who was not hurt, was the target of the assault, which came as the Norwegian embassy was holding a meeting at the Serena Hotel. Two U.S. State Department officials said at least one American was among the dead. A Norwegian reporter also died.
It was the first direct assault on a hotel in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The assailants also appeared to concentrate on the hotel's gym and spa, where foreigners relax and work out. An American inside said she saw a dead body and pools of blood in the lobby.
January 15, 2008
Arrests Made in Kabul Attack
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Filed at 4:59 p.m. ET
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The Taliban said Tuesday that its suicide bombers would attack restaurants where Westerners eat in Kabul, an ominous new threat that forced American and European workers to restrict outings in the Afghan capital.
The country's intelligence chief linked Monday's deadly attack on the Serena Hotel -- a well-guarded, high-profile property in Kabul frequented by Westerners -- to a Pakistani militant. Afghan officials arrested four people, and said they included one of the three attackers, who was disguised in a police uniform for the assault.
The death toll in the bombing and shooting attack on the hotel rose to eight. An American, a Norwegian journalist and a Filipina who died of her wounds Tuesday were among those killed.
''We will target all these restaurants in Kabul where foreigners are eating,'' Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press by telephone. ''We have jihadists in Kabul right now and soon we will carry out more attacks against military personnel and foreigners.''
Taliban spokesmen often boast that militants plan to step up attacks. Suicide bombings have increased in the last two years, and the hotel attack was the first against a facility favored by Westerners.
Security companies that protect international workers in Afghanistan restricted Westerners' movements Tuesday, placing restaurants and stores frequented by foreigners off-limits for some.
Kabul has about a half dozen restaurants popular with Westerners. The establishments -- run by ex-pats with themed menus such as French or Mexican -- do not allow Afghans entry because they serve alcohol, which is illegal for Muslims here. The restaurants sit behind nondescript walls and do little advertising, relying on word-of-mouth to bring in customers.
Some Westerners said they would continue to eat out. Christoph Klawitter, the head of a German logistics company, said he dined out two to three times a week, including at the Serena, before the attack.
4 arrested in deadly attack on Kabul hotel
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"We will target all these restaurants in Kabul where foreigners are eating," Zabiullah Mujahid told Associated Press by telephone. "We have jihadists in Kabul right now, and soon we will carry out more attacks against military personnel and foreigners."
Such threats are not uncommon from the Taliban, whose capacity to fulfill them on a large scale is questionable. But suicide attacks, mostly directed at foreign and Afghan security forces, have risen sharply in Kabul in the past two years, puncturing the sense of safety of residents who once thought the capital largely immune to such assaults.
To deal with the Taliban's resurgence, the U.S. will bolster its troop deployment in Afghanistan by sending an additional 3,200 Marines, the Pentagon said today. That would boost the American military presence here by 10%.
Monday's attack on the Serena, located in the city center, penetrated defenses that included blast walls, fortified barriers and 24-hour armed guards posted at the front gate.
Thank you for the ping and link to earlier thread.
Ping.
Ping.
Jalaluddin Haqqani may be familiar to those who know of Charlie Wilson’s War, the book by George Crile or the movie starring Tom Hanks, the story of a maverick Texas congressman who secretly funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the Afghan mujahideen and help defeat the Soviet Union.
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