Smokes rises from the Intercontinental Hotel after an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo: AP)

Kabul: Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul killing at least six people, including a foreigner, sparking a twelve hour fight with security forces that left terrified guests scrambling to escape and parts of the building ablaze.

The Taliban on Sunday claimed responsibility for storming the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul.

Afghan security forces killed four attackers during the night-time siege, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told Tolo News, during which people trapped inside the landmark hotel were seen climbing over balconies to escape.

"The attack is over," he said.

"Five Afghans and one foreigner have been killed," interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP, adding around 150 people were rescued, including more than 40 foreigners.

"The body of the foreigner, a woman, was recovered from the sixth floor as the last attacker was being killed," he added.

But an official with Afghanistan's spy agency said the attack was "not over yet" with attackers "still shooting on security forces".

Dramatic images broadcast on Afghanistan's Tolo News showed thick black smoke and flames billowing from the top of the six-floor hilltop Intercontinental hotel -- which is not part of the global InterContinental chain.

Several people could be seen climbing over a top-floor balcony using bedsheets to escape, with one losing his grip and plunging to the ground.

Officials said four gunmen burst into the hotel on Saturday night, opening fire on guests and staff and taking dozens of people hostage.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest assault in the war-torn Afghan capital, which followed a series of security warnings in recent days to avoid hotels and other locations frequented by foreigners.

It was not clear how many people had been inside the hotel, which was attacked by Taliban militants in 2011.

During the night special forces were lowered by helicopters onto the roof of the landmark building, Rahimi said.

Afghan Telecom regional director Aziz Tayeb, who was attending the IT conference, said he saw the attackers enter the hotel as he was walking towards the exit.

"Everything became chaotic in a moment. I hid behind a pillar and I saw people who were enjoying themselves a second ago screaming and fleeing like crazy, and some of them falling down, hit by bullets," Tayeb said.

Local resident Abdul Sattar said he had spoken by phone to some of his friends who are chefs and waiters at the hotel and had been trapped inside.

"Suddenly they attacked the dinner gathering... (then) they broke into the rooms, took some people hostage and they opened fire on some of them," he told AFP.

Rahimi said the attackers were armed with small weapons and rocket-propelled grenades when they stormed the hotel, which is a popular venue for weddings, conferences and political gatherings.

The last major attack on a high-end hotel in Kabul was in March 2014 when four teenage gunmen raided the Serena, killing nine people including AFP journalist Sardar Ahmad.

The Intercontinental was previously targeted in June 2011 when a suicide attack claimed by the Taliban killed 21 people, including 10 civilians.

Security at the Intercontinental is relatively lax compared with other luxury hotels in Kabul.

Even before the attack was over, authorities were questioning how the assailants got past the hotel's security, which was taken over by a private company three weeks ago, Danish said.

"We will investigate it," he said.

A hotel employee told AFP that as he fled the staff living quarters located in a building next to the hotel he saw the new security guards running for their lives.

"They didn't do anything, they didn't attack. They had no experience," the man said on the condition of anonymity.</s>KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan Special Forces ended an overnight siege at Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel on Sunday, killing the last gunman from a group of three attackers who stormed the hotel, taking hostages and battling security forces for hours.

Two gunmen were killed on Saturday night. It was initially reported that four gunmen had attacked the hotel.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said at least five other people had been killed and six wounded, a lower casualty total than earlier feared, while 153 people, including 41 foreigners had been evacuated.

As day broke on Sunday, thick clouds of black smoke could be seen pouring from the building. Several armored U.S. military vehicles with heavy machine guns could be seen close to the hotel along with Afghan police units.

The raid came just days after a U.S. embassy warning of possible attacks on hotels in Kabul.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The raid was the latest in a long series of attacks which have underlined the city’s precarious situation and the ability of militants to mount high profile operations aimed at undermining confidence in the Western-backed government.

Hotel manager Ahmad Haris Nayab, who escaped unhurt, said the attackers had got into the main part of the hotel through a kitchen before going through the hotel.

According to one witness, who did not want to be named, the attackers took hotel staff and guests hostage.

The Intercontinental Hotel, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop and heavily protected like most public buildings in Kabul, was previously attacked by Taliban fighters in 2011.

It is one of two main luxury hotels in the city and had been due to host an information technology conference on Sunday. More than 100 IT managers and engineers were on site when the attack took place, Ahmad Waheed, an official at the telecommunications ministry, said.

The attack, just days after a United Nations Security Council visit to Kabul to allow senior representatives of member states to assess the situation in Afghanistan, may lead to a further tightening of security in Kabul.

Large areas of the city center are already closed off behind high concrete blast walls and police checkpoints but the ability of the attackers to get into a well-protected hotel frequented by both government officials and foreigners demonstrated how difficult it remains to prevent high profile attacks.

Danish said a private company had taken over security of the hotel about three weeks ago.

The State Department said on Saturday it was monitoring the situation and was in contact with Afghan authorities to determine whether any U.S. citizens had been affected.

Captain Tom Gresback, spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said they were also watching closely but it was not clear what role international forces were taking in suppressing the attack.

“Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are leading the response efforts. According to initial reports, no Resolute Support or (U.S. forces) members were injured in this incident,” he said in an emailed statement.

Although Resolute Support says the Taliban has come under pressure after the United States increased assistance to Afghan security forces and stepped up air strikes against insurgents, security remains precarious.

As pressure on the battlefield has increased, security officials have warned that the danger of attacks on high-profile targets in Kabul and other cities would increase.

After repeated attacks in Kabul, notably an incident last May in which a truck bomber killed at least 150 people outside the German embassy, security has been further tightened.

While it shares the same name, the hotel in Kabul is not part of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which issued a statement in 2011 saying that “the hotel Inter-continental in Kabul is not part of IHG and has not been since 1980”.</s>Gunmen in army uniforms who stormed Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel late on Saturday and battled Afghan Special Forces through the night killed at least 18 people and wounded 12 more, although the final toll of dead and wounded may still be higher.

Wahid Majroh, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said 18 bodies had been brought into city hospitals, with six identified as foreigners. The number of casualties may climb higher, however.

All five attackers were also killed, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said.

Local airline Kam Air said around 40 of its pilots and air crew, many of whom are foreigners, were staying in the hotel and as many as 10 had been killed. Local media reports said the dead included Venezuelans and Ukrainians.

Zamari Kamgar, the airline's deputy director, said it was still trying to locate staff.

More than 150 guests were able to flee as parts of the building caught fire, with some shimmying down sheets tied together and dropped from upper-floor windows and others rescued by Afghan forces.

The Taliban, which attacked the same hotel in 2011, was responsible for the attack, its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

Abdul Rahman Naseri, a guest who was at the hotel for a conference, was in the hall of the hotel when he saw four gunmen dressed in army uniforms.

"They were shouting in Pashto (language), 'Don't leave any of them alive, good or bad'. 'Shoot and kill them all,’ one of them shouted," Naseri said.

"I ran to my room on the second floor. I opened the window and tried to get out using a tree but the branch broke and I fell to the ground. I hurt my back and broke a leg."

Even after officials said the attack was over, sporadic gunshots and explosions could be heard from the site.

The raid was the latest in a series of attacks that have underlined the city's vulnerability and the ability of militants to mount high-profile operations aimed at undermining confidence in the Western-backed government.

A statement from the interior ministry put the blame on the Haqqani network, a group affiliated with the Taliban.

As day broke on Sunday, thick clouds of black smoke poured from the building, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop and heavily protected like most public buildings in Kabul.

The Intercontinental is one of two main luxury hotels in the city and had been due to host an information technology conference on Sunday. More than 100 IT managers and engineers were on site when the attack took place, said Ahmad Waheed, an official at the telecommunications ministry.

Danesh said a private company had taken over responsibility for security at the hotel three weeks ago and there would be an investigation into possible failings, just days after a US embassy warning of possible attacks on hotels in Kabul.

Several armoured US military vehicles with heavy machine guns could be seen close to the hotel along with Afghan police units as Special Forces manoeuvred around the site.

Hotel manager Ahmad Haris Nayab, who escaped unhurt, said the attackers had got into the main part of the hotel through a kitchen before going through the hotel, with many guests trapped in their rooms.

"When the sixth floor caught fire this morning, my roommate told me, either burn or escape," said Mohammad Musa, who was hiding in his room on the top floor.

"I got a bed sheet and tied it to the balcony. I tried to come down but I was heavy and my arms were not strong enough. I fell down and injured my shoulder and leg."

Although US and Afghan officials say the Taliban has come under strain after the United States increased assistance to Afghan security forces and stepped up air strikes against insurgents, security remains precarious across the country.

In separate incidents on Sunday, eight people were killed by a roadside bomb in the western province of Herat and 18 members of local militia forces were killed at a checkpoint in the northern province of Balkh.

As pressure on the battlefield has increased, officials have warned that the danger of attacks on high-profile targets in Kabul and other cities would increase.

After repeated attacks in Kabul, notably last May when a truck bomber killed at least 150 people outside the German embassy, security has been further tightened.

Large areas of central Kabul are already closed off behind high concrete blast walls and police checkpoints, but the ability of the assailants to get into a well-protected hotel frequented by both government officials and foreigners demonstrated how difficult it remains to stop them.

The attack, just days after a UN Security Council visit to Kabul to allow senior representatives of member states to assess the situation in Afghanistan, may further weaken confidence in the government.

President Ashraf Ghani ordered an investigation and said militant groups were being helped by neighbouring countries.

"As long as the terrorist groups have secure protection and safe haven, the region will not find security, stability," he said in a statement.

US ambassador John Bass said the embassy was in close contact with Afghan authorities.</s>A seige on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel ended Sunday morning, with 146 people, including 41 foreigners, rescued from the hotel, Ministry of Interior spokesman Najib Danish said. Three attackers were involved and killed, Danish said.

Danish told CBS News five people -- four Afghans and a foreign national -- had been killed. Six people -- three Afghan security forces and three Afghan civilians -- were wounded, Danish said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Intercontinental Hotel is located on a hilltop in the Bagh-e Bala area of the capital and is heavily guarded because it hosts both Afghan and foreign guests as well as official conferences. Last night's attack unfolded almost six years after Taliban insurgents launched a similar assault.

The property is not part of the InterContinental chain of worldwide hotels.

The Interior Ministry said a private firm assumed responsibility for securing the hotel around three weeks ago. The ministry says it is investigating how the attackers managed to enter the building.

Afghan security officials confirmed that 34 provincial officials were gathered at the hotel to participate in a conference organized by the Telecommunication Ministry.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which started around 9 p.m. Saturday. As the fighting raged, a fire broke out. Firefighters are still battling the blaze. Live TV footage showed people trying to escape through windows on the upper stories.

Capt. Tom Gresback, spokesman for NATO-led forces, said in a statement that Afghan forces were leading the response efforts. He said that according to initial reports, no foreign troops were hurt in the attack.

Afghan forces have struggled to combat the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014. They have also had to contend with a growing Islamic State affiliate that has carried out a number of massive attacks in recent years.

On Thursday, the U.S. embassy in Kabul issued an alert warning of a potential terror threat. "We are aware of reports that extremist groups may be planning an attack against hotels in Kabul," the warning read. It said the groups may target public gatherings, government facilities, transportation, markets and "places where foreigners are known to congregate."

A guest hiding in his hotel room told AFP he could hear the gunfire.

"I don't know if the attackers are inside the hotel but I can hear gunfire from somewhere near the first floor," he told the news agency. "We are hiding in our rooms. I beg the security forces to rescue us as soon as possible before they reach and kill us."</s>Gunmen raided the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul killing at least 18 people during a 12-hour standoff with security forces that ended Sunday, Afghan authorities said.

Of those killed, 14 were foreign nationals and four were Afghans, according to Najib Danish, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior. Four gunmen were also killed by Afghan security forces responding to the attack, he said.

Nasrat Rahimi, a deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, had said earlier that foreigners were among the dead, but did not provide details on the nationalities of the victims. Seven Afghans were wounded, he said.

Afghan security forces went on every floor of the six-story hotel in a clearing operation, said Danish. He said four attackers were involved, but the Taliban released a statement claiming responsibility and saying it was carried out by five assailants.

The attackers were affiliated with the Pakistan-based Haqqani network, according to the Interior Ministry.

The ministry said that 153 people -- including 41 foreigners -- were rescued from the hotel. After the Interior Ministry declared the siege over, TOLO news channel reported that two attackers were still inside the hotel and gunshots were still being heard.

Gunmen attacked the hotel about 9 p.m. Saturday (11:30 a.m. ET) and were still trading fire with Afghan special forces Sunday morning local time, the station reported. Ambulances raced to the scene during a lull in the shooting, a witness who lives near the hotel told CNN.

During the standoff, the hotel's third floor, where the kitchen is located, caught fire, Rahimi said.

TOLO showed images of people apparently hanging off balconies, saying they were "desperate guests and staff trying to escape" from the burning hotel.

Ukrainian nationals were among those killed during the hotel attack, according to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. "Shocked by the tragic news from Afghanistan," Poroshenko said in a statement. "Ukrainian citizens, employees of the Ukrainian airline, fell victims of the terrorist attack in Kabul."

Poroshenko expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, but did not state how many were Ukrainian.

Pavlo Klimin, Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs, condemned the attack on Twitter.

"Horrific news from Afghanistan. Strongly condemn terrorist attack in Kabul," he wrote. "Sincere condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the victims."

The US State Department had warned last week of a possible attack by extremist groups targeting Kabul hotels.

The Afghan Interior Ministry blamed the Haqqani network for the attack. The group based in the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan, and known for its high-profile attacks on Western targets in Afghanistan. The network maintains close ties to al Qaeda and the Taliban, and seeks to reestablish Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

In 2001, then-US Ambassador Ryan Crocker accused the Haqqani network of a daylong attack against the US Embassy in Kabul.

This month, President Donald Trump announced that his administration would suspend aid to Pakistan until the country took more assertive steps to rein in terror organizations, referring to the Haqqani network by name.

Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs issued a statement condemning the attack on the Intercontinental in Kabul.

"We reiterate our strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In our view, cooperation among the states is important for effectively combating and eliminating the scourge of terrorism," it said in a statement.

US Ambassador John R. Bass also condemned the attack and commended the security forces' quick response.

"Such violence has no place here or anywhere in the world," Bass said.

"Afghanistan deserves peace and security -- not deliberate and murderous attacks on innocent civilians," he said in a statement.

The British ambassador to Afghanistan, Nicholas Kay, also tweeted his condolences, saluting the bravery of the Afghan security forces.

"When it's over, Kabul will show its resilience again," Kay said.

In June 2011, seven Taliban fighters attacked the same hotel over several hours. In the end, all seven, along with 11 other people, were dead.

The InterContinental Hotels Group developed the hotel, which opened in 1969. But the hotel has had no association with the group since the Soviet invasion in 1979, though it continues to use the name without connection to the international company.</s>KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen dressed in army uniforms who stormed Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel battled Afghan Special Forces for 13 hours in an overnight siege that caused heavy casualties among hotel guests, officials and witnesses said on Sunday.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which saw more than 150 guests flee as parts of the building caught fire, with some shimmying down tied-together sheets from upper-floor windows and others rescued by Afghan forces.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said at least five people - four Afghans and one foreigner - were killed and six wounded but the casualty total is almost certainly higher.

Local airline Kam Air said around 40 of its pilots and air crew, many of whom are foreigners, were staying in the hotel and as many as 10 had been killed. But Zamari Kamgar, the airline's deputy director said it was still trying to locate its staff and did not yet know whether they were all safe.

Abdul Rahman Naseri, a guest who was at the hotel for a conference, was in the hall of the hotel when he saw four insurgents dressed in army uniforms.

"They were shouting in Pashto (language), 'Don't leave any of them alive, good or bad. Shoot and kill them all,’ one of them shouted," Naseri said.

"I ran to my room on the second floor. I opened the window and tried to get out using a tree but the branch broke and I fell to the ground. I hurt my back and broke a leg."

It is unclear exactly how many gunmen were involved and even after officials said the attack was over, sporadic gunshots and explosions could be heard from the site. Danish said three gunmen were killed, while witnesses said four were involved and the Taliban said five.

The raid was the latest in a long series of attacks which have underlined the city's precarious situation and the ability of militants to mount high profile operations aimed at undermining confidence in the Western-backed government.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid sent a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, which he said had been carried out by five fighters.

A statement from the interior ministry put the blame on the Haqqani network, a group affiliated with the Taliban, which claimed a previous attack on the hotel in 2011.

As day broke on Sunday, thick clouds of black smoke could be seen pouring from the building, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop and heavily protected like most public buildings in Kabul.

The Intercontinental is one of two main luxury hotels in the city and had been due to host an information technology conference on Sunday. More than 100 IT managers and engineers were on site when the attack took place, Ahmad Waheed, an official at the telecommunications ministry, said.

As Special Forces maneuvered around the site, several armored U.S. military vehicles with heavy machine guns could be seen close to the hotel along with Afghan police units.

Hotel manager Ahmad Haris Nayab, who escaped unhurt, said the attackers had got into the main part of the hotel through a kitchen before going through the hotel, with many guests trapped in their rooms.

"When the sixth floor caught fire this morning, my roommate told me, either burn or escape," said Mohammad Musa, who was hiding in his room on the top floor when he heard gunfire.

"I got a bed sheet and tied it to the balcony. I tried to come down but I was heavy and my arms were not strong enough. I fell down and injured my shoulder and leg."

The raid came just days after a U.S. embassy warning of possible attacks on hotels in Kabul.

Although U.S. and Afghan officials say the Taliban has come under strain after the United States increased assistance to Afghan security forces and stepped up air strikes against insurgents, security remains precarious.

As pressure on the battlefield has increased, security officials have warned that the danger of attacks on high-profile targets in Kabul and other cities would increase.

After repeated attacks in Kabul, notably an incident last May in which a truck bomber killed at least 150 people outside the German embassy, security has been further tightened.

But the attack, just days after a U.N. Security Council visit to Kabul to allow senior representatives of member states to assess the situation in Afghanistan, may lead to a further tightening of security in Kabul.

President Ashraf Ghani ordered an investigation and said militant groups were being helped by neighboring countries.

"As long as the terrorist groups have secure protection and safe haven, the region will not find security, stability," he said in a statement.

Large areas of the city center are already closed off behind high concrete blast walls and police checkpoints but the ability of the attackers to get into a well-protected hotel frequented by both government officials and foreigners demonstrated how difficult it remains to prevent high profile attacks.

Danish said a private company had taken over security of the hotel about three weeks ago.

U.S. ambassador John Bass condemned the attack and said the embassy was in close contact with Afghan authorities. "Such violence has no place here or anywhere in the world," he said in a statement.

Captain Tom Gresback, spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said they were also watching closely but it was not clear what role international forces took in suppressing the attack.</s>The Taliban, usually quick to claim attacks, issued a statement declaring its responsibility 14 hours after the assault began. At least two senior Afghan officials said the country’s intelligence agency had reports that the Haqqani Network, a brutal arm of the Taliban, had planned the violence.

“The attack was carried out by #Pakistan based Haqqani Terrorist Network,” Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the Afghan government’s chief executive, said on Twitter.

Insurgents armed with grenades and firearms stormed the hotel around 9 p.m. on Saturday, setting off an explosion and a fire. Most of the rooms were occupied, with at least 100 guests of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology staying there for a conference.

The attack comes amid intensifying violence around the country. In the northern province of Balkh, which has been at the center of a recent political showdown with the central government, at least 18 people were killed in an attack by the Taliban late Saturday, most of them members of the local police force, officials there said.

Sarajuddin Abed, the governor of Sholgara district, which includes the site of that assault, said that initial information suggested members of the local police had been poisoned before they were attacked, but that the incident was still under investigation.

In Kabul, helicopters and drones circled above the hotel for hours while guests hid inside, many cowering under beds or in toilet stalls. Television footage showed guests trying to climb out of windows with the help of makeshift ropes.

In a room on the second floor of the 200-room hotel, Haji Saheb Nazar, 45, an employee of Afghan Telecom, spent the night huddled in a bathroom, afraid to leave. After sunrise, he spoke on his cellphone in a whisper, nearly in tears. 

“It’s still going on, upstairs and downstairs,” he said. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

“My family is so worried about me, and they keep calling me,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on outside and how many of them are in the hotel. But if they are only four, why can’t police kill or arrest them?”

Another guest, Abdul Rauf, 48, said he had run through the halls of the hotel as an armed man was firing.

“I don’t know if he was the police or a suicide attacker, but he was shooting,” he said by cellphone while hiding under the bed of his hotel room. “I escaped to my room and locked the door. I heard shooting and more than three explosions. Two rooms were on fire and smoke came into my room. I couldn’t breathe until I broke a window with my chair.”

This is not the first time a popular hotel has been the target of an attack in a city that increasingly feels barricaded with blast walls that grow ever taller.

The Intercontinental Hotel was attacked by insurgents in 2011; 21 people were killed, including nine assailants, and many others wounded before the Afghan authorities, with substantial assistance from international military forces, managed to bring an end to the violence.

Other hotels have also been targeted. The Serena Hotel, a luxury hotel in Kabul, has been struck three times, including an attack in 2014 that killed nine. In that assault, Taliban gunmen hid small pistols in the soles of their shoes to evade heavy security, then entered the restaurant and killed guests at close range, including a well-known Afghan journalist, his wife and all but one of his children. The events led to an unusual apology for what the Taliban called a “mistake.”

In 2015, the Park Palace hotel in downtown Kabul was attacked, killing at least 15 people, including one American.

Soon after sunrise on Sunday, there were glimmers of hope in the capital. Mr. Rauf told a reporter that the authorities had reached his room and taken him to a safe area they had set up on the first floor, where he joined 30 other guests while security operations continued throughout the building.

“We tried to proceed with caution to avoid harming guests who hid in the rooms and locked the doors against the attackers,” said Maj. Gen. Afzal Aman, commander of the Kabul Garrison, which is responsible for security in the capital.

Mukhtar, 50, an Afghan who uses only one name, spent the night on the street outside the hotel, repeatedly calling his 24-year-old son, Zaiurahman, who works inside as a security guard. He got no answer until shortly after sunrise on Sunday.

“He said he was safe. I was really happy and cried,” Mukhtar said. “From midnight until now I’ve been waiting here, and now I just want to hug him and kiss him when he comes out.”</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan official says standoff at Intercontinental Hotel over with all attackers killed, Taliban claim attack.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>KABUL, Jan 21 — Gunmen in army uniforms who stormed Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel late yesterday and battled Afghan Special Forces through the night killed at least 19 people and wounded 12 more, although the final toll of dead and wounded may still be higher.

Wahid Majroh, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said 19 bodies had been brought into city hospitals, with six identified as foreigners. The number of casualties may climb higher, however.

All five attackers were also killed, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said.

Local airline Kam Air said around 40 of its pilots and air crew, many of whom are foreigners, were staying in the hotel and as many as 10 had been killed. Local media reports said the dead included Venezuelans and Ukrainians.

Zamari Kamgar, the airline's deputy director, said it was still trying to locate staff.

More than 150 guests were able to flee as parts of the building caught fire, with some shimmying down sheets tied together and dropped from upper-floor windows and others rescued by Afghan forces.

The Taliban, which attacked the same hotel in 2011, was responsible for the attack, its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

Abdul Rahman Naseri, a guest who was at the hotel for a conference, was in the hall of the hotel when he saw four gunmen dressed in army uniforms.

"They were shouting in Pashto (language), 'Don't leave any of them alive, good or bad'. 'Shoot and kill them all,’ one of them shouted," Naseri said.

"I ran to my room on the second floor. I opened the window and tried to get out using a tree but the branch broke and I fell to the ground. I hurt my back and broke a leg."

Even after officials said the attack was over, sporadic gunshots and explosions could be heard from the site.

The raid was the latest in a series of attacks that have underlined the city's vulnerability and the ability of militants to mount high-profile operations aimed at undermining confidence in the Western-backed government.

A statement from the interior ministry put the blame on the Haqqani network, a group affiliated with the Taliban.

As day broke today thick clouds of black smoke poured from the building, an imposing 1960s structure set on a hilltop and heavily protected like most public buildings in Kabul.

The Intercontinental is one of two main luxury hotels in the city and had been due to host an information technology conference on Sunday. More than 100 IT managers and engineers were on site when the attack took place, said Ahmad Waheed, an official at the telecommunications ministry.

Danesh said a private company had taken over responsibility for security at the hotel three weeks ago and there would be an investigation into possible failings, just days after a U.S. embassy warning of possible attacks on hotels in Kabul.

Several armoured US military vehicles with heavy machine guns could be seen close to the hotel along with Afghan police units as Special Forces manoeuvred around the site.

Hotel manager Ahmad Haris Nayab, who escaped unhurt, said the attackers had got into the main part of the hotel through a kitchen before going through the hotel, with many guests trapped in their rooms.

"When the sixth floor caught fire this morning, my roommate told me, either burn or escape," said Mohammad Musa, who was hiding in his room on the top floor.

"I got a bed sheet and tied it to the balcony. I tried to come down but I was heavy and my arms were not strong enough. I fell down and injured my shoulder and leg."

Although US and Afghan officials say the Taliban has come under strain after the United States increased assistance to Afghan security forces and stepped up air strikes against insurgents, security remains precarious across the country.

In separate incidents today, eight people were killed by a roadside bomb in the western province of Herat and 18 members of local militia forces were killed at a checkpoint in the northern province of Balkh.

As pressure on the battlefield has increased, officials have warned that the danger of attacks on high-profile targets in Kabul and other cities would increase.

After repeated attacks in Kabul, notably last May when a truck bomber killed at least 150 people outside the German embassy, security has been further tightened.

Large areas of central Kabul are already closed off behind high concrete blast walls and police checkpoints but the ability of the assailants to get into a well-protected hotel frequented by both government officials and foreigners demonstrated how difficult it remains to stop them.

The attack, just days after a UN Security Council visit to Kabul to allow senior representatives of member states to assess the situation in Afghanistan, may further weaken confidence in the government.

President Ashraf Ghani ordered an investigation and said militant groups were being helped by neighbouring countries.

"As long as the terrorist groups have secure protection and safe haven, the region will not find security, stability," he said in a statement.

US ambassador John Bass said the embassy was in close contact with Afghan authorities.

"Such violence has no place here or anywhere in the world," he said in a statement. — Reuters</s>Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) Afghan special forces traded fire Sunday morning with the remaining gunmen who attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul hours earlier, Afghanistan's TOLO news channel reported.

The gunfire intensified about 4 a.m. Sunday (6:30 p.m. Saturday ET), TOLO said.

Ambulances came to the scene during a lull in the shooting, a witness who lives near the hotel told CNN.

Security forces near the Intercontinental Hotel after the attack.

Nasrat Rahimi, a deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Interior Affairs, earlier told CNN that Afghan special forces were trying to engage the attackers.

Two of four attackers in the hotel have been killed, Rahimi said. He said the hotel's third floor, where the kitchen is located, had caught fire.

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At least four gunmen launch an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan.