Taliban says assailants have attacked a hotel in Afghan capital Kabul

A hotel catering to foreign visitors in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul has been attacked and three of the assailants have been killed, a Taliban official says.

Two foreign residents were injured when they jumped out of windows to escape, says Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s spokesman. Residents report explosions and gunfire. Photos and video posted on social media show smoke rising from the building.

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The Emergency Hospital in Kabul says in a tweet that there was an explosion and gunfire near a hotel approximately a kilometer away. “So far, we have received 21 casualties — 3 were already dead on arrival.”

Khalid Zadran, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Kabul police chief, says the attack lasted several hours. He says a “clean-up” operation is ongoing.

No one immediately claims responsibility for the attack but the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province and a rival of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban — has increased its attacks since the Taliban takeover of the country last year.