Afghan Special Forces ended an overnight siege at Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel on Sunday, killing the last gunman from a group of three attackers who stormed the hotel, taking hostages and battling security forces for hours.
Two gunmen were killed on Saturday night. It was initially reported that four gunmen had attacked the hotel.
Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said at least five other people had been killed and six wounded, a lower casualty total than earlier feared, while 153 people, including 41 foreigners had been evacuated.
As day broke on Sunday, thick clouds of black smoke could be seen pouring from the building. Several armoured U.S. military vehicles with heavy machine guns could be seen close to the hotel along with Afghan police units.
The raid came just days after a U.S. embassy warning of possible attacks on hotels in Kabul.
Google's satellite image showing the location of the attack.
U.S. warning
The attack came days after a United Nations Security Council visit to Kabul to allow senior representatives of member States to assess the situation in Afghanistan.
Many details of the incident were still unclear, but Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said a private company had taken over security about three weeks ago.
The U.S. embassy in Kabul had issued a warning to U.S. citizens on Thursday, saying, “We are aware of reports that extremist groups may be planning an attack against hotels in Kabul.”
The State Department said it was monitoring the situation and was in contact with Afghan authorities to determine whether any U.S. citizens had been affected.
Captain Tom Gresback, spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said they were also watching closely but it was not clear whether international forces took part in suppressing the attack.
“Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are leading the response efforts. According to initial reports, no Resolute Support or (U.S. forces) members were injured in this incident," he said in an emailed statement.
Although the NATO-led Resolute Support mission says the Taliban has come under pressure after the United States increased assistance to Afghan security forces and stepped up air strikes against insurgents, security remains precarious.
As pressure on the battlefield has increased, security officials have warned that the danger of attacks on high-profile targets in Kabul and other cities would increase.
After repeated attacks in Kabul, notably an incident last May in which a truck bomber killed at least 150 people outside the German embassy, security has been further tightened.
While it shares the same name, the hotel in Kabul is not part of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which issued a statement in 2011 saying that “the hotel Inter-continental in Kabul is not part of IHG and has not been since 1980".
