2011 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack

Last updated
2011 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack
Part of War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Inter-Con Kabul.jpg
The Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul, where the attack took place
Location Kabul, Afghanistan
Coordinates 34°32′13″N69°07′31″E / 34.53694°N 69.12528°E / 34.53694; 69.12528
Date28 June 2011
TargetHotel Inter-Continental Kabul
WeaponsGuns, grenades, explosive belts
Deaths12 (+9)
InjuredUnknown
Perpetrators Taliban

On 28 June 2011, a group of nine gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the Inter-Continental Hotel, Kabul. The attack and an ensuing five-hour siege left at least 21 people dead, including all nine attackers. Responsibility was claimed by the Taliban.

Contents

Background

Sixty to seventy guests were believed to be staying at the hotel at the time of the attacks. [1] Thirty provincial government officials were staying at the hotel to attend a briefing about the transition of security responsibilities from the U.S. Military to the Afghan security forces. [2] [3] Most of the hotel's guests were in the hotel's dining hall at the time of the attack. Initial reports suggested that a wedding party may also have been hosted in one of the dance halls. [3]

Attack

The attackers passed three security checkpoints and made their way to the rear of the hotel under concealment of thick vegetation. [4] [5] The assault on the hotel began at 10:00 p.m. local time armed with assault rifles, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, machine guns, and anti-aircraft weapons. [1] [3] [6] [7] Armed Afghan law enforcement personnel fled the area and failed to engage the attackers. [8] Nine attackers were captured on surveillance camera entering through the rear hotel garden where only two guards were stationed during a dinner for hotel guests. [3] [9] Suicide vests were detonated at the entrance to the hotel and on the second floor. [7] Two dance halls were destroyed in the initial attack. [3] The attackers then ascended to the fifth floor. [3] Exchanges of weapon fire between law enforcement occurred until the early morning hours. [1]

Hotel guests were told to barricade themselves in their rooms; [4] some escaped by jumping from the hotel's windows. [5]

Termination of the attack

Entry forces ascended the first two floors killing a militant in the process. The security forces attempted to disarm the explosive vest the attacker was wearing. [7] The attackers took up firing positions on the hotel roof when the fight entered its climactic end. [2] Three combatants on the hotel roof were attacked by two of three circling NATO helicopters. [4] [10] The militants may have been killed in the strike or may have detonated their vests. [4] One U.S. Blackhawk helicopter carried International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) snipers while an MC-12W Liberty and an MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft provided critical aerial surveillance. [11] Afghan policemen could not be coaxed by police chief Mohammad Ayoub Salangi to enter the building after the attackers were killed. [8] At one point, an Afghan intelligence official informed the press that it believed it had eliminated all but one militant. [1] One injured suicide bomber hid in a hotel room and ambushed and killed a Spanish pilot after the declared conclusion of operations. [4] [12]

Electricity to the hotel was restored after the end of military operations, [10] and a scheduled briefing on the transition of security responsibilities from the U.S. Military to the Afghan security forces proceeded the next day. [3]

Victims

Among the wounded were five Afghan policemen and thirteen civilians. [4] [13] Five hotel staff including one hotel security guard and a hotel chef, and three policemen were killed. [3] [4]

Perpetrators

Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid claimed Taliban responsibility for the attack and lauded the militants that killed "dozens of the foreign and local top-level officials". [3] The Long War Journal reported that the attack was carried out by the "Kabul Attack Network". According to the Journal, the network was an ad hoc organization with insurgents and operatives from Afghan and Pakistani Taliban groups, the Haqqani network, Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin, and with support from Lashkar-e-Taiba and al Qaeda. The network is led by Dawood (also spelled Daud), the Taliban's shadow governor for Kabul, and Taj Mir Jawad, a leader in the Haqqani network. The Journal also stated that the organization is sometimes assisted by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency. [14]

The ISAF believes that the operation was supplied by the Haqqani network. Ismail Jan, Deputy to the senior Haqqani commander, was killed in an airstrike in Paktia province which borders Pakistan's FATA a day after the attack. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taliban insurgency</span> Insurgency during the War in Afghanistan

The Taliban insurgency began after the group's fall from power during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces fought against the Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, and later by President Ashraf Ghani, and against a US-led coalition of forces that has included all members of NATO; the 2021 Taliban offensive resulted in the collapse of the government of Ashraf Ghani. The private sector in Pakistan extends financial aid to the Taliban, contributing to their financial sustenance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Mountain Fury</span> Military operation in Afghanistan

Operation Mountain Fury was a NATO-led operation begun on September 16, 2006 as a follow-up operation to Operation Medusa, to clear Taliban insurgents from the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. Another focus of the operation was to enable reconstruction projects such as schools, health-care facilities, and courthouses to take place in the targeted provinces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack</span> Attack on the gym of the Kabul Serena Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan

The 2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack was an attack on the gym of the Kabul Serena Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan on January 14, 2008, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haqqani network</span> Afghan Islamist guerrilla insurgent group

The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government in the 21st century. It is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United Nations. It is considered to be a "semi-autonomous" offshoot of the Taliban. It has been most active in eastern Afghanistan and across the border in north-west Pakistan.

The 2009 UN guest house attack happened in the early hours of October 28, 2009, in Kabul, Afghanistan. 3 Taliban attackers stormed a guest house used by the United Nations, killing five UN staff, two Afghan security personnel and an Afghan civilian.

The February 2010 Kabul attack on 26 February 2010 was a combined suicide bombing and shooting attack. A car bomb levelled the Arya Guesthouse, also known as the Hamid Guesthouse, popular with Indian doctors. Two armed attackers then entered the nearby Park Residence, housing other foreigners. One detonated a suicide bomb, and the other was shot dead. The Safi Landmark Hotel nearby was badly damaged by the blasts. At least 18 people were killed and 36 more were injured.

The May 2010 Kabul bombing occurred on May 18, 2010, in Kabul, Afghanistan. 18 people, including 5 US soldiers and a Canadian soldier, were killed and 52 were injured when a NATO convoy was targeted by a Taliban suicide attacker. It was the deadliest attack against NATO forces in Afghanistan since September 2009, when six Italian soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber. Two full colonels and two lieutenant colonels were killed in this attack, making it the deadliest attack against ranking officers in Afghanistan. With this attack, the total number of Americans killed in Afghanistan crossed one thousand.

Events from the year 2011 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 in Afghanistan</span> List of events

Events from the year 2012 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">April 2012 Afghanistan attacks</span> Suicide bombing and Taliban attacks

The April 2012 Afghanistan attacks took place on Sunday, 15 April 2012, at around 13:00 local time when heavily armed Taliban insurgents and suicide bombers launched multiple coordinated attacks throughout Afghanistan. Insurgents launched the 2012 spring offensive on multiple locations, including government buildings, military bases, and embassies. Attacks occurred in four Afghan provinces, including Kabul and Paktia. Different reports attribute responsibility for the attacks to either Taliban or the Haqqani network although the Taliban have claimed responsibility.

The following lists events from 2014 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Afghanistan.

The September 2011 Kabul attack occurred when Taliban fighters attacked multiple locations in Kabul, Afghanistan including the US Embassy and NATO headquarters, on 13 September 2011. The insurgents and at least seven others were killed and 15 were wounded. It was the first incident in the capital in which widely separated targets came under simultaneous attack. Elements within the Afghan and Pakistan governments were suspected of complicity in the attacks.

Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.

Events in the year 2018 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack</span> Attack in Afghanistan

On 20 January 2018, a group of four or five gunmen attacked the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack left 40 people dead including fourteen foreigners, while 14 were injured.

Mullah Taj Mir Jawad, also spelt Tajmir Jawad, is the Deputy Director of Intelligence of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 7 September 2021, alongside Rahmatullah Najib. He is a senior leader of the Haqqani network.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "About 13 killed in Kabul hotel attack". Xinhua News Agency. 28 June 2011. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  2. 1 2 Maria Abi-Habib & Zia Sultani (28 June 2011). "NATO Helicopter Ends Siege in Kabul Hotel". Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Safeeyah Kharsany; Mujib Mashal (29 June 2011). "Manager gives account of Kabul hotel attack". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Associated Press (30 June 2011). "Afghan attack left mass of bodies at luxury hotel". Associated Press. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  5. 1 2 Derek Cheng (1 July 2011). "How the SAS defeated the Taliban". APN Holdings NZ Limited. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  6. ↑ "Bombers attack luxury hotel in Kabul". CNN. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 "Kabul hotel attack: Nato helicopters kill Taliban". BBC. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  8. 1 2 Alissa Rubin (1 July 2011). "Reluctance to engage in hotel battle raises questions of Afghan preparedness". Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  9. 1 2 "ISAF: Haqqani network leader suspected in Kabul hotel attack killed". Cable News Network. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  10. 1 2 "Afghan Officials: Kabul Hotel Attack Over". VOA News. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  11. ↑ Barbara Starr (29 June 2011). "U.S. drone and copter, coalition snipers helped Afghans". Cable News Network. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Farhad Peikar; Lianne Gutche; Rob Crilly (29 June 2011). "Barack Obama warns 'our work is not done' after Taliban hotel siege". Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  13. ↑ "Suicide bombers attack top hotel in Afghan capital". Haaretz. Reuters. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  14. ↑ Roggio, Bill, "ISAF airstrike kills senior Haqqani Network commander involved in Kabul hotel attack", Long War Journal , 30 June 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.