KABUL, Afghanistan – Heavily armed Taliban insurgents killed 17 people — most of them civilians — in an attack Friday on a lakeside hotel just north of Kabul, Afghan officials said.
Insurgents battled Afghan security forces for about 12 hours while they held hotel guests hostage inside the hotel. Kabul police said the fifth and final attacker was killed at midday Friday, ending the standoff.
It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down. The strike at the hotel, about a half-hour drive from the capital, was a reminder that the Taliban can still hit very close to the seat of the Afghan government.
Twelve Afghan civilians, four security guards and an Afghan police officer died in the attack, said Gen. Kadam Shah Shayem, the Afghan National Army commander for Kabul.
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Taliban storm Afghan hotel, kill 17 people | Fox News
Insurgents battled Afghan security forces for about 12 hours while they held hotel guests hostage inside the hotel. Kabul police said the fifth and final attacker was killed at midday Friday, ending the standoff.
It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down. The strike at the hotel, about a half-hour drive from the capital, was a reminder that the Taliban can still hit very close to the seat of the Afghan government.
Twelve Afghan civilians, four security guards and an Afghan police officer died in the attack, said Gen. Kadam Shah Shayem, the Afghan National Army commander for Kabul.
more
Taliban storm Afghan hotel, kill 17 people | Fox News
