Suicide bombers target Kabul hotels killing seventeen

By Ben Farmer in Kabul Published: 5:05PM GMT twenty-six February 2010

Previous of Images Next An Afghan commando stands ensure outward the the Park Residence guesthouse in Kabul. It was the site of a gun conflict and an blast carried out by self-murder bombers Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES Civilians, Afghan policemen and at slightest one Indian adult were in between the passed and 32 people had been taken to sanatorium according to Afghan authorities. Photo: EPA

Up to 9 Indians, an Italian shrewd person and a French movie builder were in between the passed in the misfortune conflict on the Afghan collateral for multiform months.

Witnesses pronounced a four-hour conflict began with a car bombing and enclosed self-murder bombers and Taliban fighters throwing grenades.

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Guests were knocked from their beds by the early sunrise explosions and sealed themselves in their bedrooms or climbed from windows as fighters non-stop fire.

The Taliban claimed shortcoming and Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, pronounced the attacks appeared to be directed at Indian supervision officials and healing workers.

Three Afghan troops were killed, and 6 some-more officers were in between the 38 people bleeding in what was described as a well-planned and mutual attack.

India is one of Afghanistan"s greatest donors, but the participation has annoyed antithesis and guess in Pakistan, that fears encirclement by the incomparable neighbour.

The Indian embassy in Kabul has twice been strike by harmful car bombings in the past eighteen months and one conflict was blamed on Pakistan"s ISI troops view agency.

SM Krishna, India"s unfamiliar minister, said: "These are the handiwork of those who are unfortunate to criticise the loyalty in between India and Afghanistan."

The conflict began shortly after 6.30am with the streets forlorn as Afghanistan noted the bieing born of the soothsayer Mohammed.

Abdul Rahman Rahman, arch of Kabul police, pronounced a car explosve began the attack, levelling the Arya Guesthouse, renouned with Indian doctors operative at the city"s Indira Gandhi Child Health Institute.

Two alternative enemy afterwards entered the circuitously Park Residence, that additionally houses on vacation foreigners together with Indian supervision officials. One detonated, murdering 3 policemen, and the alternative was shot dead.

The high-rise, glass-fronted Safi Landmark road house subsequent doorway was really bad shop-worn by the blasts and damaged windows dirty the streets.

Pietro Antonio Colazzo, an Italian tactful counsellor, was in between the passed and Mr Rahman pronounced he had been shot whilst telephoning troops with report that saved alternative guests.

He said: "He was killed by the terrorists who realised that he was flitting report to troops forces.

"He was in a room right at the back of the enemy and he could see where they were and what they are doing." Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian budding minister, praised Mr Colazzo as a true supervision menial who died you do his job.

Severin Blanchet, a 66-year-old French filmmaker precision immature Afghans in documentary filmmaking additionally died.

The conflict was the majority new given a group of self-murder bombers stormed a selling centre on Jan 18, call a five hour encircle after they unsuccessful to dig the Afghan executive bank.

A identical conflict in Oct targeting United Nations staff in a guesthouse killed five choosing workers and led the organization to lift out hundreds of employees from the country.