KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen in army uniforms who stormed Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel late on Saturday and battled Afghan Special Forces through the night killed more than 30 people and wounded many more, although the final toll of dead and wounded may still be higher. The dead included hotel staff and guests as well as members of the security forces who fought the attackers. Special forces killed two of the attackers, an interior ministry spokesman said, and are trying to get to the others. The Taliban, which attacked the same hotel in 2011, claimed responsibility for the attack, its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement. The Intercontinental is one of two main luxury hotels in the city and had been due to host an information technology conference on Sunday.  Image copyright Reuters Image caption Afghan security forces have taken up positions around the hotel 
 
 At least four gunmen have launched an attack on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, Afghan officials say. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani 
 
 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. The senior security official said that the attackers had moved directly from the first floor to the fourth and fifth floors, suggesting the attack had been carefully prepared, possibly with inside help. At least five people have been injured, officials said. The insurgents have carried out dozens of such attacks over recent years. After repeated strikes on Kabul, notably last May when a truck bomber killed at least 150 people outside the German embassy, security has been further tightened.
– Guests were forced to flee as gunmen stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul and opened fire Saturday night, the BBC reports. Najib Danish, spokesperson for Afghanistan's Interior Ministry, tells Reuters the approximately four attackers also included suicide bombers. Afghan Special Forces responded to the attack and killed at least two gunmen, Danish says. An official with Afghanistan's spy agency says the gunmen were "shooting at guests." "We are hiding in our rooms," one guest is quoted as saying. "I beg the security forces to rescue us as soon as possible before they reach and kill us." There are reports the Intercontinental Hotel, one of two major luxury hotels in Kabul, was hosting an IT conference at the time of the attack. There has as yet been no word on possible casualties. The AP reports no group is claiming responsibility for the attack on the hotel so far, though the Taliban previously attacked the hotel in 2011. The attack comes just two days after a warning from the US embassy in Kabul that the city's hotels could be targeted. "We are aware of reports that extremist groups may be planning an attack against hotels in Kabul," the embassy said in statement Thursday.