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Explosion Reported at Kabul's Diplomat Hotel

EmergencyNet News *FLASH* Report

09:30CST - 14 Jan 2008

Explosion Reported at Kabul's Diplomat Hotel

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: An explosion and several rounds of gunfire reportedly occured on Monday at a new hotel often inhabited by foreigners. The audacity and brutal nature of the attack quickly reverberating throughout the Afghan capital. An American citizen inside the hotel said she saw a body and pools of blood in the lobby. The incident reportedly occurred at approximately 18:12 p.m., Afghan time.

Largely unconfirmed reports suggest that "multiple attackers" threw hand grenades killing two guards to get past the outer security cordon and into the hotel compound where one or more detonated their explosive vests, an unidentified official said. Other accounts coming from the region speak about multiple gunshots coming from the hotel.

An Afghan official said he had no further information on casualties. However, other witnesses say at least two (2) people may have died...but that has not been verified by the Afghan government or U.S. troops who responded to the explosion. It is also thought that a number of people were wounded in the attack.

It is still not clear if the explosion was inside the Serena Hotel or in its large courtyard where the parking lot is located. Police kept journalists and onlookers far from the building and troops cordoned-off the area from on-lookers.

A Taliban spokesman almost immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and reportedly said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber and three militants with grenades and guns.

The hotel is located in the diplomatic and business sector of Kabul. It is often the site of official meetings and receptions for foreign officials. Watch EmergencyNet News for more on this still emerging story...

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Additional Reference:

Frontline: Return of the Taliban

-- Source: WGBH educational foundation, can be found at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/taliban/