Gunmen storm Afghan guesthouse; 14 dead

A senior Afghan government official says a total of 14 people, including nine foreigners, were killed when Taliban attackers stormed a Kabul guesthouse the night before.

The official says that among the nine foreigners killed in the stunning assault, seven were men, and two women. He spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.

Five Afghan were also among the dead — four men and one woman — and seven were wounded, including one Afghan policeman.

The full breakdown of the nationalities among the foreigners killed on Wednesday's attack was not immediately known. So far, four Indians and an American have been confirmed dead.

Authorities cordoned off the area around the Park Palace guesthouse in Kabul's Kolola Pushta area immediately after the attack began around 8:30 p.m. local time.

The attack ended about five hours later as ambulances raced out of the area. Kabul's police chief was due to speak to reporters, police said.

The brutal assault was reminiscent of two attacks by Taliban fighters in Kabul last year, one on a restaurant and another on a hotel.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy confirmed that one American was killed in the attack, but gave no other details.

At least two Indian nationals were also killed and three who had lived at the guesthouse were rescued and sheltering at the India Embassy, a diplomat said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Qadam Shah Shaheem, commander of the Afghan National Army's 111th Corps, said police, army and special forces had rescued at least 16 people, but police cited witnesses as saying as many as 100 people were still inside.

"Today, there was going to be a music concert there. Fortunately, most guests had not arrived yet," Shaheem said. "The rescue operation is still on ... It is a big, two-story building with several rooms, so it will take some time to clear it."

Kolola Pushta is home to several international guesthouses and hotels and is near the Ministry of Interior and the Indian Embassy.

Earlier on Wednesday, gunmen opened fire at a meeting of prominent Muslim clerics in the southern province of Helmand, killing at least seven people, police official Jan Aqa said.

The Ulemma Council, the highest religious authority in a deeply conservative country, had repeatedly announced its support for security forces fighting the hard-line Taliban fighters.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks since they announced their "spring offensive" last month, after most foreign forces pulled out at the end of last year, and claimed responsibility for the Helmand assault.

Ousted from power in 2001, the Taliban have been fighting to bring down the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.

Earlier this month, suicide bombers twice attacked buses carrying staff belonging to the attorney general's office in Kabul, killing at least four people.

Reuters