Kabul hotel attack: Nato helicopters kill Taliban

June 29, 2011 Nato helicopters have ended an attack by suicide bombers and gunmen on a hotel in Kabul, striking the militants on the roof of the building. Two helicopters shot dead three attackers at the Intercontinental Hotel, popular with Westerners, in a five-hour overnight clash. Three other attackers, two police and eight civilians died in the assault. No guests were reported to be harmed. A Taliban spokesman said the insurgent group had carried out the attack. However, interior and defence ministry officials told the BBC it bore the hallmarks of the Haqqani network, a group closely allied to the Taliban but which operates independently. 'Panic': Smoke and flames could be seen coming from the hotel as the sun rose over Kabul. Afghan security officials said at least six militants had stormed the building, and all had been killed. Interior ministry spokesman Siddiq Siddiqi told AFP that all the non-militants killed were Afghans. The attack began while many guests were in the dining room late on Tuesday. Afghan officials told the BBC that one suicide bomber had blown himself up at the front of the hotel and another on the second floor. Witnesses said panic broke out as guests fled for safety. Afghan troops and police sealed off the building and cut the power, using flares to light the area. Intense gunfire was heard coming from the hotel and some explosions could be heard up to 5km away, said the BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul. Afghan police said one militant was shot dead as security forces fought their way through. Three attackers managed to reach the roof and Afghan officials then asked the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) for assistance, security sources told the BBC. Isaf spokesman Major Tim James said those killed on the roof by Nato helicopters appeared to have been wearing suicide vests. "We've had reports that there were a number of explosions caused either by the insurgents detonating themselves or the engagement by the helicopter causing [suicide vests] to explode," he told AFP news agency. An Afghan official said the attackers had hand-grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s. Officials said a meeting of provincial governors taking place at the hotel might have been the target of the attack. The attack also came the night before the start of a conference about the transition of responsibility for security from Isaf to Afghan security forces. Correspondents say the Intercontinental is one of Kabul's most heavily guarded hotels. The US state department condemned the attack, saying it demonstrated "the terrorists' complete disregard for human life". Kabul has been relatively stable in recent months, although violence has increased across the country since the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan on 2 May, and the start of the Taliban's "spring offensive". In January 2008, militants stormed the capital's most popular luxury hotel, the Serena, and killed eight people, including an American, a Norwegian and a Philippine woman. Source: BBC News