At least four gunmen have launched an attack on Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel, Afghan officials say.<\/p>\n
Special forces had killed one of the attackers, interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told the BBC.<\/p>\n
An official at the Afghan spy agency told AFP that the gunmen were “shooting at guests”.<\/p>\n
The attack began at about 21:00 local time (16:30 GMT), officials said. There were no immediate details of casualties.<\/p>\n
Security forces had cleared the first floor of the hotel but the attackers were still on the floors above, Mr Rahimi said.<\/p>\n
Reports said fires had broken out in the hotel kitchen and on the fourth floor.<\/p>\n
A guest at the hotel told AFP that people were hiding in their rooms.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know if the attackers are inside the hotel but I can hear gunfire from somewhere near the first floor,” the guest said.<\/p>\n
“We are hiding in our rooms. I beg the security forces to rescue us as soon as possible before they reach and kill us.”<\/p>\n
Mr Rahimi said the hotel guests included foreigners and some reports said the hotel had been hosting an IT conference attended by provincial officials at the time of the attack.<\/p>\n
The Intercontinental is a state-owned hotel which often hosts weddings, conferences and political gatherings.<\/p>\n
It was attacked by the Taliban in 2011<\/a>. Twenty-one people were killed including nine attackers.<\/p>\n Security has been tightened in Kabul since last May, when\u00a0a huge truck bomb killed at least 150 people<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, there have been several attacks in recent months.\u00a0They include a bomb at a Shia cultural centre last month<\/a>\u00a0that killed more than 40 people.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"