DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY October 28, 2009 ~ Six UN Staff Killed By Suicide Attack In Kabul

DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY October 28, 2009 ~ Six UN Staff Killed By Suicide Attack In Kabul *Six United Nations staff were among seven people killed when Taliban militants launched a series of suicide bomb, rocket and commando attacks on a UN guesthouse and an international hotel close to the Presidential Palace in Kabul. *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - October 28, 2009: The six international staff members were killed when three suicide attackers stormed the Bakhtar guesthouse in the city's Shahr-e-Naw district. A U.N. ambulance arrives the site of an attack as Afghan policemen secure in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. Gunmen attacked a guest house used by U.N. staff in the Afghan capital of Kabul early Wednesday, officials said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election. Several other staff are understood to have broken limbs as they leapt from windows or over walls to escape the attack at soon after 6.30am local time (2am GMT). A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack saying suicide attackers had entered the building. The group said the attack was the first part of a campaign to disrupt the second round run-off of the presidential election. Three days ago the movement issued a statement warning Afghans to boycott the poll. Witnesses reported a large explosion and then gun fire which could be heard across the city. A plume of smoke rose from the scene and helicopters circled overhead. A United Nations spokesman said the incident was still going on. He could not comment on unconfirmed Taliban claims that at least one hostage had been taken.Afghan policemen comfort a foreign survivor of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. Gunmen attacked a guest house used by U.N. staff in the Afghan capital of Kabul early Wednesday, officials said. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election. Afghan authorities said six foreigners had been killed in the attack. "Three suicide bombers have been killed during the police operation, they were armed suicide bombers," said Zemarai Bashary, spokesman for the interior ministry. "Unfortunately six foreigners have been killed, five foreigners have been wounded." Adrian Edwards, a United Nations spokesman said the attack was the most serious to befall the organisation. He confirmed six UN staff were killed. He said: "This has clearly been a very serious incident for us. We've not had an incident like this in the past." An Afghan soldier by the site of the attack, in a busy shopping district near Kabul's Butcher Street, said four men and one woman were among the dead. A Minster of the Interior official said the shootout ended two hours later with the deaths of three attackers. The guesthouse also houses international staff working for other companies and organisations. Twenty UN staff, many of whom are believed to hav ebeen in the country for the Nov 7 presidential run off between Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, were staying at the guesthouse at the time. United Nations staff have been under increased security in recent weeks after credible reports insurgents planned to kidnap a staff member. Later, reports from Kabul said rockets had been fired at the foreign-owned Serena hotel near the presidential palace. A foreign national staying at the hotel, which is Kabul's only five-star hotel, said that more than 100 people had been rushed to an underground bunker following the attacks, but no casualties could be seen.