Militants killed five people including foreigners during a seven-hour overnight siege on a Kabul guesthouse, police said Thursday, adding that an undetermined number of attackers also died in the firefight.
“Five people were killed and five were wounded — including foreigners and Afghans — in the attack on Park Palace guesthouse,” police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told reporters. “Fifty-four people were rescued by security forces.”
The US embassy earlier confirmed that one American was among the dead, and the Indian ambassador tweeted that there were “a few Indian casualties” without specifying if they were wounded or had been killed.
Rahimi said that one attacker had been identified and that they were investigating if others were involved in the storming of the downtown guesthouse where a musical concert had been scheduled to take place.
“So far we have identified one attacker, but we are looking to see if there were more. We are trying to find out the circumstances in which the attack took place. We need more investigation,” he said.
However, his deputy Sayed Gul Agha Rohani told that “three attackers have been killed. They didn´t get the chance to detonate their suicide vests.”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the siege on the guesthouse, but it comes as the Taliban — who have previously attacked such properties frequented by foreigners — press their annual spring offensive.