4 Taliban militants die in attack in Afghan capital

KABUL, Afghanistan — An all-night siege in an upscale neighborhood of the Afghan capital, Kabul, ended in the early hours of Wednesday morning with the deaths of four heavily armed Taliban attackers, though no civilians or security personnel were injured or killed, an Afghan official said.

The attack came amid intensified fighting across many parts of Afghanistan, following the start in late April of the annual Taliban warm-weather offensive. A Taliban attack on a guesthouse in another part of Kabul earlier this month left 14 people dead, including nine foreigners.

Wednesday’s siege ended after 5 a.m. in a sustained barrage of automatic weapons fire and a series of huge explosions that resounded across the Wazir Akbar Khan district of downtown Kabul, home to many embassies and foreign firms.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned “the terrorist attack” and praised the quick response of security forces, which he said had prevented civilian casualties.

Speaking to reporters outside the guesthouse that was the target of the six-hour assault, Kabul’s police chief Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi said that four attackers were involved and that all had been killed “before reaching their target.”

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in tweets on a recognized Twitter account. They referred to the target as “belonging to the occupiers,” reiterating the insurgents’ message that foreign installations are specific targets in the Afghan capital.

Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayub Salangi said weapons had been seized, including a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, three automatic rifles and a hand grenade at the site of the assault.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement that the Taliban strategy of targeting guesthouses and hotels “shows their complete disregard for civilian lives.” It said all embassy staff were accounted for and safe.