Nine killed in Taliban attack in Kabul hotel

Nine people, including four women, were killed in a deadly Taliban attack in a popular hotel in Kabul, sources said Friday morning. Four attackers too were killed.

"Nine people were also killed in last night's (Thursday) Taliban attack in Serena Hotel besides four gunmen," an Afghan security source told Xinhua.

Earlier reports suggested three people were injured in the firing.

Among the four women killed, two were foreigners, the source said.

Six people were seriously wounded in the attack before the attackers were gunned down.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.

The incident occurred at around 9 p.m. Thursday after four people who hid pistols in their socks pretended that they had come for dinner in the restaurant of the hotel, which is located near the presidential palace, interior ministry spokesman Seddiq Seddiqi told reporters near the site around midnight.

The assailants indiscriminately fired at the people who were dining in the five-star hotel, the source said.

This is the second attack against restaurants frequented by foreigners in Kabul this year. On Jan 17, 21 people, including 13 foreigners, were killed after a suicide bombing and shooting in a Lebanese restaurant.