What Happened?
The Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, was attacked by five gunmen over the weekend. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack which took the lives of approximately 20 people, according to the Afghan government. Others say the death toll is closer to 30 or 40.
Among the dead were 13 foreigners. Many of those killed were crew members of the Afghan airline Kam Air, according to Reuters. The hotel was under attack for at least 12 hours as the gunmen held hostages and continued to fire at will.
The Latest
The U.S. State Department sent a warning out days before the attack, specifically warning of an attack on hotels in Kabul. Security in and around the capital city has now become the major focal point in preventing further attacks. While it has long been a major point for the Afghan government, it is being further scrutinized after this latest act.
What’s next?
According to CNN, NATO has alluded that 2018 will be the turning point for Afghanistan where they start regaining lost ground. Afghan officials are also trying to nail down exactly who carried out the attack. While the Taliban took responsibility, some officials believe the Haqqani network could have been at fault.
The Haqqani network is a Taliban-aligned organization based in Pakistan. The allegation that the network was responsible gives Afghan and U.S. officials more reason to call out Pakistan for harboring militants.
In Context
This attack is far from the first to take place in Kabul recently. The following is a list of bombings and attacks in and around Kabul since October 2017. (Sources: @Conflicts, BBC News, NPR, The Independent and The New York Times)
- Oct. 17 – at least 32 killed, 200 wounded in attack on Afghan police
- Oct. 20 – at least 30 killed in Kabul mosque suicide attack
- Oct. 20 – at least 30 killed or wounded in attack on Ghor Province Mosque
- Oct. 31 – multiple killed by suicide bombing inside Kabul’s Green Zone near the Australian embassy
- Dec. 25 – at least 6 killed in bombing near Afghan intelligence agency
- Dec. 28 – at least 41 killed, more than 80 injured in bombing at Tabayan cultural center
- Dec. 31 – at least 15 killed, 14 wounded at a funeral
- Jan. 4 – at least 11 killed, 25 wounded in bombing against security personnel
- Jan. 20 – at least 20 killed, death toll could rise to 43 after attack on Intercontinental Hotel