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Afghanistan
Kabul Hotel Attack; Officials Say 3 Assailants Killed
2022-12-13
[KhaamaPress] Three assailants were killed in the hotel attack in the Shahr-e-Naw neighborhood of Kabul, the Afghan capital, according to Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Afghan government.

Several explosions and gunshot bursts were heard by sources as the unidentified button men attacked the multi-story Kabul Longan Hotel on Monday, December 12.

According to Mujahid, all guests have been moved and no foreigners were killed in the attack. However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
two foreign residents who jumped out the window to escape the attack are injured.

Security personnel rushed to the spot and blocked off the neighborhood as smoke appeared to be spewing out from the hotel structure.

The hotel where "common people were staying" was the target of the attack at 2:30 pm local time, according to Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran, who added that security measures were being taken.

The attack occurred close to a Chinese guesthouse, according to the official Xinhua news agency of China, which also said that its embassy in Kabul was closely observing the situation.

The attack happened the day after the Chinese ambassador, Wang Yu, met with the deputy foreign minister of Afghanistan, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, to address security-related issues and to request more attention for the protection of its embassy.

The regional ISIS affiliate, also known as the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in Khorasan Province (ISKP), has escalated its activities in Afghanistan since the political upheaval, although no group or organization immediately claimed credit for the attack on Monday.
Tolo News adds:
Kabul Security Department’s Spokesman Khalid Zadran said a compound called "Kabul Hotel," in which ordinary people are living, came under attack by "devil" elements.

The source said that the three other attackers were rubbed out by the Islamic Emirate forces.

According to the source, one member of Islamic Emirate forces was killed and three others were maimed.

No one has yet grabbed credit for the attack.

A resident told TOLOnews that two big blasts were heard followed by several small blasts. He said the building belongs to Chinese nationals.

Video released on social media, shows part of the compound on fire.
More from Dawn:
The hotel is popular with Chinese business visitors, who have flocked to Afghanistan since the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
’s return in pursuit of high-risk but potentially lucrative business deals.

China, which shares a rugged 76-kilometre (47-mile) border with Afghanistan, has not officially recognised the Taliban government but is one of the few countries to maintain a full diplomatic presence there.

SENSITIVE BORDER
Beijing has long feared Afghanistan could become a staging point for minority Uyghur separatists in China’s sensitive border region of Xinjiang.

The Taliban have promised that Afghanistan would not be used as a base for holy warriors and, in exchange, China has offered economic support and investment for Afghanistan’s reconstruction.

Maintaining stability after decades of war in Afghanistan is Beijing’s main consideration as it seeks to secure its borders and strategic infrastructure investments in neighbouring Pakistain, home to the China-Pakistain Economic Corridor.

Despite owning the rights to major projects in Afghanistan, notably the Mes Aynak copper mine, China has not pushed any of these projects forward.

The Taliban are reliant on China to turn one of the world’s largest copper deposits into a working mine that would help the cash-strapped and sanctions-hit nation recover.
Posted by:trailing wife

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