Kabul Attack
- January 15th, 2008
- Posted by EUEditor
At least six people are reported to have died when six Taliban terrorists attacked the Serena Hotel in Kabul (12.1.08), which houses the Australian embassy.
The Norwegian Foreign Minister was staying at the hotel, and a journalist, Carsten Thomassen from the Oslo newspaper Dagbladet, was one of those killed; prompting the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to describe Afghanistan as now one of the most dangerous places for its members, and deploring the event as a ‘sad day for Norwegian journalism’.
The Australian government has ordered a security review for its embassy staff, none of whom were counted among the victims.
A NATO spokesperson said the Taliban had resorted to a terror campaign after failures in military operations.
Four Taliban guerrillas took part in the hotel attack, shooting and setting off explosions; one is believed to have been killed while the others got away.
Nearly 40 000 troops are stationed in Afghanistan with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the NATO alliance.
Reference:
IFJ, “IFJ Condemns Killing of Norwegian Reporter as Taliban Suicide Killers Attack Kabul Hotel”, 15.1.08, Brussels.
Defence Ministry, “Attack on the Serena Hotel รข€” Kabul”, CPA 4/08, 15.1.08, Canberra.
Picture: Serena Hotel, publicradio.org