Kabul, Jun 22 (AP) Heavily armed Taliban insurgents killed 17 people, most of them civilians, in an attack today on a lakeside hotel just north of Kabul, Afghan officials said. Insurgents battled Afghan security forces for about 12 hours while they held hotel guests hostage inside the hotel. Kabul police said the fifth and final attacker was killed at midday today, ending the standoff. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down. The strike at the hotel, about a half-hour drive from the capital, was a reminder that the Taliban can still hit very close to the seat of the Afghan government. Twelve Afghan civilians, four security guards and an Afghan police officer died in the attack, said Gen. Kadam Shah Shayem, the Afghan National Army commander for Kabul. Kabul Police Chief Mohammad Ayub Salangi said five attackers -- armed with machines guns, rocket-propelled grenades and vests laden with explosives -- stormed the Spozhmai hotel at Qargha Lake before midnight yesterday. By midmorning, militants were still fighting Afghan forces, supported by international troops. Gunfire pierced the quiet surroundings of the lake area. Black smoke was rising from the two-story hotel in a wooded area on the bank of the lake. NATO helicopters circled overhead. "It was around 11:20 pm last night when it all started," said Mohammad Ghani, who was at the scene. "It got quiet for a couple of hours and then the fighting stated again." (MORE) AP
