Fox News: Taliban Leaves 40 Dead in Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel

PHOTO: Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan.

UPDATE:Reports from Fox News claimed that the fatality count, according to their sources in ties with the Afghanistan government, has reached 40 people. They also say that there may have been an inside-plot to attack, citing the fact that the attackers seemed to know where foreign nationals were staying and avoided their rooms.

Fox News and other sources also confirmed that the Taliban has claimed responsibility.

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One of the city's most protected buildings, Kabul's 5-star rated Intercontinental luxury hotel was reported terrorized and attacked by terrorists today. Reports stated that a large group of as many as four attackers entered the Hotel, and began firing on citizens and tourists inside of the famous tourist hotspot before taking hostages.

An unnamed witness told The Guardian that the attackers took hotel staff members and some of the hotel's guests and tourists hostage. Police in Kabul said they believe that at least a few of the reported suspects are 'suicide bombers'.

Unconfirmed reports out of Kabul, Afghanistan suggested that, although no confirmed number of fatalities or casualties could be given out at the moment, that a suspected amount of fifteen deaths and at least five injuries have been reported.

As of this moment, it's unclear to the Mount Royal Times whether or not the hostage situation reported by police and witnesses at the Intercontinental Hotel is over.

Last Thursday, the US Embassy of Kabul issued an advisory to American citizens already in Afghanistan's borders and especially those in the capital city. The US embassy's statement highlighted, particularly, that they had reason to believe that hotels in the area of Kabul could be terrorized.

"We are aware of reports that extremist groups may be planning an attack against hotels in Kabul." the statement read. Read it entirely for yourself:

The hotel has been attacked once before; back in June of 2011, where explosions and a group of 9 gunmen terrorized the Intercontinental Hotel of Kabul leaving 12 citizens/tourists/staffers dead and numerous others hospitalized.

As of right now, there has yet to be any claim of responsibility by any extremist group in the region of Kabul and the Middle-East of which is saying they are responsible for today's attack. The Mount Royal Times has not obtained photos of today's terror attack scene in Afghanistan as of right now, but will upload it when it becomes available.

Early reports indicated that ISIS-affiliated news agencies in Syria, Iraq and even Afghanistan were 'observing' the incidents in Kabul. They refrained from claiming responsibility for the ongoing massacre right away. It's unclear if they're responsible.

In the past, the Taliban has been extremely quick - in comparison to other groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabbab - at claiming responsibility for terror attacks. In some times, they claimed attacks only minutes after they were carried out. Other groups like ISIS often take a number of hours, sometimes even days, before claiming responsibility.

#Kabul #Afghanistan #Terror