Taliban attack Kabul hotel

ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION

Afghan security forces rush to the site of a popular lakeside hotel on the outskirts of Kabul where Taliban gunmen are holding several hostages, thought to include women and children, and some people have been killed, Kabul police said on Friday (June 22).

An unknown number of gunmen, some armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns, attacked the hotel in Kabul's popular Qargha Lake recreation area late on Thursday night, triggering a five-hour gunbattle.

The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying wealthy Afghans and foreigners used the hotel, about 10 km (6 miles) from the centre of Kabul, to have "wild parties" in the lead-up to the Friday religious day holiday.

A statement by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said Afghan civilians and police were targeted in the attack on the hotel and that it had received reports of an unspecified number of casualties among civilians and police.

Qargha Lake is one of Kabul's few alternatives for weekend getaways. Restaurants and hotels that dot the shore are popular with Afghan government officials and businessmen, particularly on Thursday nights.

Another police source also said there were an unknown number of families trapped inside the hotel, making police reluctant to launch a frontal attack because of fears that those inside would be caught up in the fighting.