Taliban kills UN staff in Kabul guesthouse attack

Gunmen attacked a guest house used by United Nations staff in the Afghan capital Kabul early today, killing at least six UN staff.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election.

UN spokesman Adrian Edwards said the world body had confirmed six deaths among its workers and that nine others were injured.

He said the house was on fire and officials were still trying to account for a couple of other workers who were housed there. He did not know their nationalities but said they were non-Afghans.

Mr Edwards said, “This has clearly been a very serious incident for us. We’ve not had an incident like this in the past.”

Afghan police official Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada said a total of 10 people were killed in today's attack, including three gunmen, and that police had taken control of the building.

The bodies of three attackers were taken out of the house and sent for examination, said Gul Mohammad, an officer at the scene.

Security guard Noor Allah said he saw a woman screaming for help in English from a second storey window and watched as terrified guests leapt from windows.

Police used wooden ladders to get over the walls of the compound to search and rescue survivors. One officer was seen carrying an injured German man on his back.

On a street outside, the body of a man in blue pyjamas lay on the back of a green police truck.

Another body lay on the street, covered by a red and yellow blanket.

Security forces blocked off nearby streets and climbed to the top of surrounding buildings to secure the area. Afghan army forces stood guard behind machine guns mounted on the top of camouflaged Humvees.

Inside the compound, a reporter saw two UN vehicles riddled with bullet holes. The walls of the three-storey house were blackened from the fire and its window panes were shattered. The fire appeared to be out, but firefighters were still on the top floor.

The guest house appeared to be relatively new, ornately designed with balconies and decorative detailing on railings and doors.

Heavy gunfire reverberated through the streets shortly after dawn and a large plume of smoke rose over the city following the attack in the Shar-e-Naw district.

Mr Edwards said 20 UN staff were known to be registered there but he was unsure whether all were there at the time of the attack.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call, saying three militants with suicide vests, grenades and machine guns carried out the assault.

“This is our first attack,” he said.

He said three days ago the Taliban issued a statement threatening anyone working on the November 7 run-off election between President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abbdullah.

Following the attack, a rocket slammed into the grounds of the luxury Serena Hotel, which is used by many foreigners. The device failed to explode but filled the lobby with smoke, forcing guests and employees to flee to the basement, according to an Afghan witness.

The guest house attack was the third major one in the capital in recent weeks.

On October 8, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the Indian embassy, killing 17 people – mostly civilians – and wounding at least 76 more. The Afghan Foreign Ministry hinted at Pakistani involvement, a claim Pakistan denied.

On September 17, a suicide car bomber killed six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians on one of Kabul’s main roadways.

Afghans vote on November 7 in a second-round election after UN-backed auditors threw out nearly a third of Mr Karzai’s votes from the August 20 ballot, determining widespread fraud. That pushed Mr Karzai’s totals below the 50% threshold needed for a first-round victory in the 36-candidate field.

The Taliban warned Afghans to stay away from the polls or risk attacks. Dozens of people were killed in Taliban attacks during the August balloting, helping to drive down turnout.

The guest house attack happened a day after roadside bombs killed eight more Americans, driving the US death toll to a record level for the third time in four months as President Barack Obama nears a decision on a new strategy for the troubled war in Afghanistan.

The casualties are likely to fuel the debate in the US over whether the conflict is worth the sacrifice.

Mr Obama has nearly finished gathering information on whether to send tens of thousands more American forces to quell the deepening uprising, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

A meeting on Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be among the last events in the decision-making process.