Attack in the lobby of the Serena Hotel in Kabul At 6:30 pm local time, three men disguised in
police uniforms created a distraction while a fourth man entered the hotel compound to
detonate his
suicide vest.
Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid said that the militants had been armed with
AK-47 automatic rifles, hand
grenades and explosive jackets. After a car bomb had detonated outside the hotel, the militants began firing around inside the compound. According to a NATO spokesman, one of the compound guards managed to kill one of the militants before they entered the hotel. Two of the militants threw hand
grenades at the guards outside, then entered the hotel complex itself. As they entered the hotel, one of the militants detonated a suicide vest, while at least one other, who was wearing an
Afghan police uniform, began firing an
AK-47. The Norwegian photographer Stian Solum explained that he was one of those shot at by a man wearing an Afghan police uniform as he left the lift. The militants were supposedly planning to target the hotel's exercise and spa facility, which is used by many foreigners. After the attack,
American and
Afghan forces appeared at the scene in order to set up a perimeter around the hotel and search for the remaining assailants.
Private Security Contractors employed by the
U.S. State Department Worldwide Personal Protective Services of team Hammer 4 QRF were some of the first responders to arrive on scene. After arriving they began a methodical, room to room clearing of the hotel. They
evacuated over 20 foreign nationals in armored
Land Cruiser and Suburban vehicles. The Norwegian
ISAF force in Kabul evacuated injured and others from the hotel. The Norwegians used two armoured vehicles, a
Sisu XA-186 and a patrol car, including a medic and a nurse during the evacuation.
Fatalities Six people are believed to have been killed and six wounded. Two Norwegians were shot and severely injured in the attack. One of them was
Dagbladet journalist Carsten Thomassen, who was hit by three rounds and later died from his wounds; the other was a male employee from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs . They were transported by Norwegian soldiers to a
Czech ISAF field hospital in Kabul, Two hotel guards were killed in the attack as well as a
Filipino female employee at the hotel and an
American citizen, Thor Hesla, who was a long-time political campaigner for
David Wu,
Bill Bradley and
Bill Clinton, among others. One of the attackers was killed by security forces and a second killed in the
explosion he caused. A diplomat from the
United Arab Emirates was shot in the abdomen and severely injured.
The perpetrators A
Western medic who arrived at the hotel after the attack said that of the four attackers, one was shot and killed in the lobby, one had detonated himself in the courtyard, one apparently locked himself on the hotel roof by mistake and then detonated his explosive vest, and the fourth had fled the scene and was captured by
security guards.
Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre Norwegian Foreign Minister
Jonas Gahr Støre resided at Serena Hotel along with a large delegation from the
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time of the attack. The delegation was then moved to safety in a bomb shelter in the basement of the hotel. while the Taliban released different statements. One source claimed the Norwegian foreign minister was not the target for the attack, Due to security reasons, Støre cancelled the rest of his visit to Afghanistan the day after the attack. ==International reactions==