2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack

2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack

Location Kabul, Afghanistan
Date January 14, 2008 (UTC+4:30)
Target Senior foreign military officers
Attack type
 Suicide attack
Deaths 6[1]
Non-fatal injuries
 6
Perpetrators Haqqani Network

The 2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack was an attack on the gym of the Kabul Serena Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan on January 14, 2008 for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

A Norwegian delegation under Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was staying at the hotel at the time of the attack. The attack claimed six lives, including Norwegian journalist Carsten Thomassen. Six others were also injured.

The Kabul Serena Hotel is a five star hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, designed by the Montreal-based Group Arcop Architects and since its reopening in 2005 has been used by international media crews and politicians. The Hotel also houses the Australian embassy in Afghanistan.[2]

Details

The Attack

Shot of the perpetrator by a surveillance camera in the lobby of the Serena Hotel in Kabul.

At 6:30 pm local time, three men disguised in police uniforms created a distraction while a fourth man entered the hotel compound to detonate his suicide vest. Taliban spokesman Zadihullah Mujahid claimed that the militants had been armed with AK-47 automatic rifles, hand grenades and explosive jackets.[3][4] After a car bomb had detonated outside the hotel, the militants began firing around inside the compound.[5] According to a NATO spokesman, one of the compound guards managed to kill one of the militants before they entered the hotel.[6]

Two of the militants threw hand grenades at the guards outside, then entered the hotel complex itself. As they entered the hotel, one of the militants detonated a suicide vest, while at least one other, who was wearing an Afghan police uniform, began firing an AK-47.[7][8]

U.S. and Afghan soldiers search through the Hotel Serena in Kabul, Afghanistan, after the attack.

The Norwegian photographer Stian Solum explained that he was one of those shot at by a man wearing an Afghan police uniform as he left the lift.[8] According to Norwegian foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne Lene Dale Sandsten Norwegian officials were in a meeting one level down from the reception when they heard shooting and "a big blast".[3]

The militants were supposedly planning to target the hotel’s exercise and spa facility, which is used by many foreigners.[9]

After the attack, American and Afghan forces appeared at the scene in order to set up a perimeter around the hotel and search for the remaining assailants. Private Security Contractors employed by the U.S. State Department Worldwide Personal Protective Services of team Hammer 4 QRF were some of the first responders to arrive on scene. After arriving they began a methodical, room to room clearing of the Hotel. They evacuated over 20 foreign nationals in armored Land Cruiser and Suburban vehicles. The Norwegian ISAF force in Kabul evacuated injured and others from the hotel. The Norwegians used two armoured vehicles, a Sisu XA-186 and a patrol car, including a medic and a nurse during the evacuation.[10][11]

Fatalities

Deaths by nationality
Country Number
 Norway 2
 Afghanistan 2
 Philippines 1
 United States 1
Total 6
U.S. military personnel outside the perimeter of Serena Hotel.

Six people are believed to have been killed and six wounded. Two Norwegians were shot and severely injured in the attack. One of them was the Dagbladet journalist Carsten Thomassen, who was hit by three rounds and later died from his wounds; the other was a male employee from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs .[8][12] They were transported by Norwegian soldiers to a Czech ISAF field hospital in Kabul,[7] where Thomassen died during surgery due to his injuries.[13]

Two hotel guards were killed in the attack as well as a Filipino female employee at the hotel and an American citizen, Thor Hesla,[14] who was a long-time political campaigner for David Wu, Bill Bradley and Bill Clinton, among others.[15][16][17]

One of the attackers was killed by security forces and a second died in the explosion. A diplomat from the United Arab Emirates was shot in the abdomen and severely injured.[18]

The perpetrators

A Western medic who arrived at the hotel after the attack commented that of the four attackers, one was shot and killed in the lobby, one had detonated himself in the courtyard, one apparently locked himself on the hotel roof by mistake and then detonated his explosive vest, and the fourth had fled the scene and was captured by security guards.[14][18][19]

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre

A Norwegian bodyguard during the attack.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre resided at Serena Hotel along with a large delegation from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time of the attack.[8] Everyone attending the meeting located one floor below the lobby were ordered down on the floor by Norwegian Police Security Service guards. They remained lying while the guards were ready to use their weapons, in case the room itself should be attacked.[20]

The delegation was then moved to safety in a bomb shelter in the basement of the hotel.[8] At the time of the attack, Støre had just begun his meeting with the leader of the Afghan Human Rights Commission.[7]

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon later stated that the Norwegian delegation led by Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre had been the targets for the attack.,[21] while the Taliban released different statements. One source claimed the Norwegian foreign minister was not the target for the attack,[5] although the Norwegian media claims that the Taliban wished to attack the Serena Hotel while Støre resided there in order to intimidate on an "international level".[14][22]

Due to security reasons, Støre cancelled the rest of his visit to Afghanistan the day after the attack.[10]

International reactions

Countries

International organizations

Controversy in Norway

The attack and Thomassen's death in particular triggered controversy in Norway when it became known that the Norwegian Foreign Ministry had ignored recommendations from the Norwegian Police Security Service and the Norwegian military intelligence regarding the security arrangements for Støre's visit.[30] One particularly controversial decision, which may have contributed to the Taliban's choice of target, was to publish Støre's itinerary, including the name of the hotel where he would be staying, in advance of the trip.[31] Furthermore, while it is standard operating procedure for the Norwegian ISAF forces to escort any Norwegian delegation in Afghanistan with a protection detail including a medevac APC, the Foreign Ministry had declined such an escort.[32] Subsequent to the attack, sources within the Norwegian armed forces expressed dismay at the Norwegian Foreign Ministry's lack of proper contingency plans for medical evacuation.

See also

References

  1. ↑ CTV.ca CTV
  2. ↑ The Courier-Mail: Terrorists hit Australian embassy, published January 15, 2008
  3. 1 2 BBC NEWS - Taleban attack Kabul luxury hotel
  4. ↑ VG: VG-fotograf kjempet for kollegaens liv, published January 15, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  5. 1 2 Nettavisen: Støre var ikke målet, published January 14, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  6. ↑ BBC News: Taleban attack Kabul luxury hotel, published January 14, 2008
  7. 1 2 3 Nettavisen: Ble beordret ned på gulvet, published January 14, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Aftenposten: Bombeangrep mot Støres hotell Archived 2008-01-19 at the Wayback Machine., published January 14, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  9. ↑ Dagbladet: Et sikkert hotell, published January 14, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  10. 1 2 VG: Støre trolig hjem til Norge etter terrorangrepet, published January 14, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  11. ↑ Schiager, Espen (2008-01-18). "Drama in Kabul". Norwegian Defence Forces. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  12. ↑ Dagbladet: To nordmenn skutt på hotell i Kabul, published January 14, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  13. 1 2 Rønbeck, Sigrun T.; Jul Meland, Knut (2008-01-14). "Dagbladet-journalist drept" [Dagbladet journalist killed] (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  14. 1 2 3 Haugli, Kurt; Ertzeid, Heidi (2011-10-20). "Laget selvmordsvideo" [Created a Suicide Video] (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  15. ↑ Honoring Thor Hesla Remarks on the floor of the House by David Wu, cited in Capitol Words, January 15, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  16. ↑ A Life on the Edge Ends in Afghanistan by Rachel Zelkowitz for the Emory Wheel, January 28, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  17. ↑ U.S. Aid Worker Mourned, The Washington Times, January 16, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  18. 1 2 BBC News: Eyewitness: Carnage in Kabul hotel, published January 14, 2008
  19. ↑ Aftenposten: Kabul-terrorist låste seg trolig ute på taket, published January 16, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  20. ↑ Aftenposten: Kastet seg i dekning da skuddene smalt, published January 14, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  21. ↑ VG: FN: Støre var målet, published January 14, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  22. ↑ VG: Taliban: Ville angripe mens Støre var på hotellet, published January 15, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  23. ↑ Dagbladet: Et forsøk på å skremme hjelpere bort, published January 14, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  24. ↑ Udenrigsministeriet: Udenrigsminister Per Stig Møller udtaler efter angrebet på den norske udenrigsminister i Kabul, published January 14, 2008 (in Danish)
  25. ↑ Ingibjörg Sólrún: Skelfileg tíðindi - Íslendingar í Kabúl innan vaktaðs svæðis, published January 14, 2008 (in Icelandic)
  26. ↑ Allvarligt attentat i Kabul, published January 14, 2008 (in Swedish)
  27. ↑ IPI (International Press Institute) :: IPI Condemns Murder of Norwegian Journalist in Kabul
  28. 1 2 VG Nett: Taliban: Ville angripe mens Støre var på hotellet, published January 15, 2008 (in Norwegian)
  29. ↑ Taliban attack shows need to address terror threat: UN chief, published January 14, 2008
  30. ↑ Aftenposten.no Archived 2008-01-17 at the Wayback Machine. (in English) Security measures questioned after attack in Kabul
  31. ↑ dagbladet.no (in Norwegian) UD-rutiner under lupen
  32. ↑ dagbladet.no (in Norwegian) Det tok 1 time og 54 minutter for Carsten hamnet pa operationsbordet
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