Taliban attack: Indian among 9 killed in Kabul luxury hotel

Kabul: An Indian was among four foreigners killed along with five Afghans in a brazen Taliban attack on a heavily fortified luxury hotel here in Afghanistan's capital.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said the underage attackers evaded security checks by hiding small pistols and ammunition in socks and the soles of their shoes.

The attackers entered the hotel at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday in traditional Afghan clothing and started shooting, he said.

"The four foreigners killed in the attack are citizens of New Zealand, Canada, Pakistan and India," he told reporters, without identifying them.

Sediqqi said five Afghans were among those killed, including two children who were shot in the head.

Sardar Ahmad, a staff reporter at the Agence France-Presse news agency, was also killed in attack. Ahmad, 40, was shot dead along with his wife and two of his three children when four teenage gunmen attacked the hotel on Thursday evening.

Two of the attackers were gunned down inside the restaurant in Serena, third inside the bathroom and forth in a closeby area, he added.

Sediqqi said the attack was planned outside Afghanistan. "I hope the ceasefire between the Taliban and Pakistani government has nothing to do with the elections," he added.

The heavily fortified Serena Hotel is used by UN staff and foreign diplomats and has been a frequent target of insurgent attacks.