Four Taliban militants who launched an hourslong gun and grenade attack in an upscale district of central Kabul have been killed, Afghan authorities said Wednesday.
The sounds of explosions and gunfire echoed through the Afghan capital as fighting between the Taliban attackers and Afghan security forces raged, starting around 11 p.m. Tuesday and continuing into the early hours of Wednesday.
No civilians or members of the security forces were killed in the battle, Afghan Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayub Salangi told CNN.
The Taliban said the target of the attack was a hotel owned by the son of Afghanistan’s former President. The militants singled out the Heetal Plaza Hotel because “foreign invaders” were staying there, the Taliban said in a statement.
It’s the latest in a long series of Taliban attacks targeting foreigners in Afghanistan.
Rocket launcher and other weapons seized
The hotel’s manager said its defenses hadn’t been breached. The Heetal Plaza is owned by the son of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Afghan officials said security measures at the hotel and the security forces’ response prevented the insurgents from harming anyone before they were killed.
Security forces seized a rocket launcher, three AK-47s and a grenade launcher from the attackers, Salangi said.
The Taliban have targeted hotels in Kabul previously.
Less than two weeks ago, a gun attack on the Park Palace Guest House killed 14 people, many of them foreigners. In March 2014, Taliban militants carried out a deadly assault on the luxury Serena Hotel.
