Taliban attack

Twelve people were killed after an explosion rocked a guesthouse in central Kabul used by the United Nations and armed militants stormed in.

UN spokesman Adrian Edwards confirmed to the AFP news agency that among the dead were six international UN staff. He was unable to confirm the nationalities of those killed.

Two Afghan security officers were also killed along with three attackers. The 12th fatality was a civilian hit by a bullet while watching the battle from the second floor of his house.

Afghan forces exchanged gunfire for an hour and a half with militants inside the Bekhtar Guesthouse, which was attacked at around 6:30 a.m. by three armed gunmen wearing vests packed with explosives. According to Afghan interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashery, the attackers were shot dead during the police operation.

The Taliban had warned over the weekend that it would target all Afghans and foreigners working on the November 7th run-off election between President Hamid Karzai and his challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, who finished second in the August polls. The Taliban has vowed to continue attacks in the run-up to the vote.

Karzai on Wednesday ordered an immediate and urgent upgrade to security for international organizations.

"The president instructed security agencies to reinforce security at foreign installations for better protection against such incidents," a statement from the president's office said.

Hotel under fire

Kabul's luxury Serena hotel, near the presidential palace, was also the scene of explosions, even as the guesthouse was still under siege. Rockets were fired at the building, landing in its gardens, according to witnesses and security sources.

A foreigner staying at the hotel told the Reuters news agency that more than 100 people were rushed to an underground bunker following the attack. No casualties have been reported from that attack.

The violence comes in the month that has proven the deadliest for US forces in Afghanistan, which make up two-thirds of the troops in there. Eight US soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, according to NATO, which pushed the October death toll to 53.

The attacks on soldiers and civilians comes as US President Barack Obama weighs whether to send more soldiers to the country to fight the growing insurgency.

The commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has asked for 40,000 more troops to carry out a counter-insurgency campaign. If he does not get a substantial infusion of troops, he has said, the Afghan mission could fail.

jam/AFP/Reuters/dpa
Editor: Chuck Penfold