Attack on Kabul hotel popular with Chinese nationals ends, three assailants killed

KABUL: At least three attackers were killed by security forces in Afghanistan on Monday after armed men opened fire inside a hotel in central Kabul popular with Chinese nationals, a spokesperson for the Taliban-run administration said.
The attack has now ended and no foreigners were killed, although two of them were injured while trying escape the attack by jumping from the hotel balcony, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
A video posted on Twitter by a journalist in Kabul, verified by Reuters, showed smoke billowing out of a multi-storey building, with one lower floor on fire.
The attack took place around 2:30pm local time when armed men targeted a hotel where “common people were staying”, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said, adding that forces were trying to secure the area.
Residents of the area reported hearing a powerful explosion followed by gunfire. The attack was carried out at a building where Chinese and other foreigners usually stay, residents said.
The attack came a day after China’s ambassador met the Afghan deputy foreign minister to discuss security-related matters and sought more attention on the security of its embassy.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the attack took place near a Chinese guesthouse and that its embassy in Kabul was closely monitoring the situation.
Several bombing and shooting attacks have taken place in Afghanistan in recent months, some of which have been claimed by Islamic State militants.
The Islamist Taliban, who seized power after U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew in August 2021, have said they are focused on securing the country.