Taliban claims responsibility for Kabul guesthouse attack

It was the most audacious assault by the insurgents since the star of their spring offensive.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday condemned the Taliban attack on a Kabul guesthouse the previous night that killed 14 people, including nine foreigners, and said the brutal slayings will not undermine his government’s efforts to achieve peace and stability.

Wednesday’s attack was the most audacious assault by the insurgents in the Afghan capital since the start of their spring offensive. The foreigners killed included an American, a British citizen, an Italian, four Indian nationals and two Pakistanis.

The four Indians killed included two private auditors and an NGO worker who were at the guesthouse, located in the Kolola Pushta area.

Hours-long siege Gunmen stormed the restaurant of the Park Palace Hotel in Kabul as it was hosting a party for foreigners around 8-30 p.m. local time, according to Kabul police chief Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi. The victims were killed during an hours-long siege that ended early Thursday morning.

Five Afghans were also among the dead and seven were wounded, including one Afghan policeman.

Mr. Ghani’s statement said he had spoken to the leaders of the nations whose citizens were killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail distributed to media. Their spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the hotel was targeted because of the presence of foreigners, including Americans there.