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    June 28, 2011

10 People Reportedly Killed in Attack on Luxury Kabul Hotel

   VOA News
   Afghan security officer directing vehicles near the Inter-Continental
   hotel in Kabul, Jun 28, 2011
   Photo: AP
   Afghan security officer directing vehicles near the Inter-Continental
   hotel in Kabul, Jun 28, 2011

   Several attackers believed to be wearing suicide vests stormed a luxury
   hotel in the Afghan capital, Kabul, late Tuesday and early reports
   indicate that 10 people have been killed.
   The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the
   Intercontinental Hotel. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group was
   targeting foreign guests and that heavy casualties have been inflicted.
   However, the Taliban often exaggerates the number of casualties in
   attacks against Western and Afghan government targets.
   Police said a wedding party was under way when the attack occurred.
   They said at least one suicide bomber blew himself up inside the hotel.
   However, witnesses reported at least three loud explosions and gunfire
   inside and outside the hotel.
   Police blocked off streets leading to the hotel, situated on a hill
   overlooking the Afghan capital and said the entire area was in
   darkness.
   Violence has flared across Afghanistan since the Taliban announced its
   spring offensive and the United States is set to start withdrawing
   troops from Afghanistan in the coming weeks.
   In other violence Tuesday, NATO said three of its service members died
   in separate insurgent and bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan.
   Also in the south, authorities said a roadside bomb killed two women
   and wounded a child in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province.
   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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