Afghan Police: Huge Explosion, Gunfire Rocks Luxury Hotel in Kabul
Monday, January 14, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan — An explosion and several rounds of gunfire went off Monday at a luxury hotel frequented by foreigners, reverberating throughout Kabul, police said. An American citizen inside the hotel said she saw a body and pools of blood in the lobby.
It was not clear if the explosion was inside the Serena Hotel or in its large courtyard where the parking lot is located. Police kept journalists and onlookers far from the building.
Mohammad Arif, a police officer, confirmed the explosion at the Serena. Ambulances and U.S. troops rushed to the hotel after the 6:12 p.m. explosion.
A Taliban spokesman said a suicide bomber and three militants with grenades and guns attacked the hotel.
Meanwhile, an American citizen who was working out in the hotel's gym said she heard gunfire after the explosion, and saw a body and pools of blood in the lobby area and bullet marks in the gym area. She asked not to be identified for her safety.
The Serena is a newly built luxury hotel frequently used by foreign embassies for meetings, parties and dinners. The nicest hotel in the city, visiting Westerners often stay or eat dinner there.
Vanessa Valentino, an American working in the Afghan capital, was at a meeting at the central bank around the corner when she heard a series of explosions and gunfire.
Valentino described an explosion faraway, then gunfire, another distant explosion followed by a large explosion very close — all within a couple of minutes.
"I think it shook the building," Valentino said. "We're just not leaving the building, and we can't figure out what's happened, so we decided to stay inside."
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