Taliban kills 14, including 9 foreigners in Afghanistan

Asia-Pacific, News May 14, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Foreign and local officials say at least 14 people, including nine foreigners, were killed in an attack against a guesthouse in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

On Thursday, officials confirmed that one American national, one Italian and four Indians were among those killed a day earlier in the incident at the Park Palace.

The Afghan Taliban has claimed responsibility for the five-hour assault at the Park Palace, located in the diplomatic enclave of Kabul.

It happened as guests attended a dinner and arrived for a concert.

Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said that security forces had rescued 54 people at the guesthouse, which is located in an up-market district popular among international aid agency workers.

“So far, we have identified one attacker, but we are looking to see if there were more. We are trying to find out the circumstances in which the attack took place. We need more investigation,” Rahimi added.

Police say more than 40 people were rescued. It is unclear how many gunmen were involved.

A Taliban spokesman said the aim was to kill foreigners, in retaliation for the US and its allies supporting the Kabul government of President Ashraf Ghani.

According to reports, three assailants were killed by Afghan security forces.

The incident comes as Taliban militants started their annual spring offensive against Afghan security forces and the US-led foreign troops across the war-torn country on April 24.

The militants have been carrying out attacks against US-led foreign soldiers, who have been stationed in the country since Washington led the invasion of Afghanistan back in 2001, as part of its war on terror.

Although the Taliban were removed from power, the country is still threatened by frequent deadly attacks.

The US-led combat mission in Afghanistan ended on December 31, 2014 and Afghan forces are now responsible for security in the country. However, thousands of foreign forces, mainly from the United States, have remained in the country in what Washington calls a support mission.