10 killed in Taliban suicide attacks

The Taliban claimed responsibility for deadly suicide attacks that killed at least 10 people in the heart of the Afghan capital Kabul. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Friday that five suicide bombers conducted the attacks on two buildings used by foreigners.
Police officer Gulam Mustafa at the scene said authorities think two residential hotels, or guest houses, used by foreign workers in Afghanistan were the targets of the attacks.
Residents in the area told The Associated Press that Indians were among those living in the hotels.
According to General Ahman Zia Yaftali, an official at the Defence Ministry, at least 10 people have been killed. Afghan officials said civilians, Afghan policemen and an Indian citizen were among those killed.
A hospital official said 32 were wounded.
Witnesses said suicide bombers were to blame and that gunmen opened fire at the site.
Abdul Ghafor Sayedzada, a top investigator for the Kabul police, confirmed the blasts, which woke up residents near the Kabul City Centre, a nine-storey shopping complex that includes the Safi Landmark Hotel. Najibullah, a 25-year-old hotel worker, said he ran out of the hotel in his underwear when he heard the first explosion. He said he saw two suicide bombers on the site.
There was no official confirmation about the target of the explosions, but an official from the Interior Ministry said a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the shopping complex, and said more than one suicide bomber might have been involved. The blasts occurred on Friday, the first day of the Afghan weekend when fewer people are on the streets. A building was on fire in front of the four-star hotel, which is close to most government offices. A reporter for The Associated Press said gunmen opened fire at the site. Shattered glass covered the streets, and a large plume of black smoke was seen rising from the area. Afghan police, armed with Kalashnikov rifles, moved in, taking cover in the doorways of shops.
It was the first attack in the Afghan capital since January 18, when teams of suicide bombers and gunmen targeted government buildings, leaving 12 dead, including seven attackers.