| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan |
| Foreigners, children among nine killed in Kabul hotel attack |
| 2014-03-22 |
| [DAWN] The four gunnies were swift as they entered the luxury hotel in Kabul, although it took them a few minutes to find the restaurant that was their target, Afghan officials said Friday as they pieced together details of the brazen attack that killed nine people, including four foreigners and two children who were shot in the head. The Afghan capital has been hit by several attacks, but authorities appeared stunned that the Death Eaters had managed to get through the tight security at the Serena hotel -- considered one of the safest places to stay in Kabul. The shooting spree was the latest in a series of high-profile attacks as the Taliban and allied Death Eaters step up a campaign of violence in the weeks leading to the April 5 national elections. It also came on the heels of an uptick in bombings and shootings against foreigners in Kabul, something that had been relatively rare. Earlier this month, a Swedish journalist was shot on the street execution-style and a Lebanese restaurant popular with foreigners was attacked by a jacket wallah and gunnies in January. The attacks show the Taliban are following through on their threat to use violence to disrupt next month's elections. The presidential vote will be the first democratic transfer of power since the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban movement. President Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtunface on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahid grabbed credit for the hotel attack, saying it shows that "our people, if they decide to attack any place, they can do it." The restaurant was packed with Afghans celebrating the eve of the Persian New Year, Nowruz as well as foreigners who frequent the hotel. Interior Ministry front man Sediq Sediqqi said most of the non-combatants were killed when two of the attackers walked into the restaurant and began shooting, while the others were shot to death as the gunnies made their way through the hotel. Police killed all four attackers after a three-hour standoff, with shooting resounding through the cordoned off streets outside. |
| Posted by:Fred |