Alwaght- Taliban terrorist group has claimed responsibility for assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Afghanistan's capital that killed at least 40 people, including foreigners, Fox News reported.
The attack which started at 9 pm local time Kabul continued for more than 13 hours amid heavy gunfire exchange between the terrorists and Afghan special forces before the last of the four attackers were killed on Sunday, with the casualty toll expected to rise.
The Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan had earlier confirmed that the militants siege of the hotel ended with the elimination of all four attackers.
A statement by the ministry said at least 160 people including 41 foreign nationals were rescued during the operation by the Afghan forces.
People trapped at the top of the six-storey Intercontinental Hotel, which sits on a hilltop overlooking the Afghan capital and is popular with international visitors and Afghan officials, could be seen tying together bedsheets and climbing over balconies to escape the overnight siege.
The Taliban claimed the attack saying five gunmen armed with suicide vests targeted foreigners and Afghan officials.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group initially planned to attack the hotel Thursday night but postponed the assault because there was a wedding underway.
Afghanistan is still suffering from insecurity and violence years after the US and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.
In recent months, ISIS terrorists, after suffering devastating blows in Iraq and Syria, have now relocated to Afghanistan through alliances with local terror networks.
