The United Nations says six of its staff members are dead after an early morning attack on a guest house in the Afghan capital of Kabul. The attack on the UN guest house ended with the deaths of three gunmen.
UN spokesman Adrian Edwards said the world body has confirmed six deaths among its workers and that nine others were injured.
Edwards says the house was on fire and that officials are still trying to account for a couple of other workers who were housed there. He did not know their nationalities but said they were non-Afghans.
Six foreigners were killed and five others wounded in the attack which ended at 8:30 am (0400 GMT), said Zemarai Bashary, spokesman for the interior ministry.
"The operation is over now," he told AFP. "Three suicide attackers were killed."
A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election. ( Watch Video )
Heavy gunfire reverberated through the streets shortly after dawn and a large plume of smoke rose over the city following the attack in the Shar-e-Naw district.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press, saying three militants with suicide vests, grenades and machine guns carried out the assault.
He said three days ago the Taliban issued a statement threatening anyone working on the Nov. 7 runoff election between President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abbdullah. ``This is our first attack.''
The firing occurred a day after roadside bombs killed eight more Americans, driving the US death toll to a record level for the third time in four months as President Barack Obama nears a decision on a new strategy for the troubled war in Afghanistan. The casualties are likely to fuel the debate in the United States over whether the conflict is worth the sacrifice.
Obama has nearly finished gathering information on whether to send tens of thousands more American forces to quell the deepening insurgency, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. A meeting Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be among the last events in the decision-making process, Gibbs said.
The casualties on Tuesday bring to 55 the total number of Americans killed in October in Afghanistan. The next highest toll was in August, when 51 US soldiers died and the troubled nation held the first round of its presidential election amid a wave of violence.
By comparison, the deadliest month of the Iraq conflict for US forces was November 2004, when 137 Americans died during a major assault to clear insurgents from the city of Fallujah.
``A loss like this is extremely difficult for the families as well as for those who served alongside these brave service members,'' said Navy Capt. Jane Campbell, a military spokeswoman. ``Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who mourn their loss.''
The deaths came one day after 11 American soldiers were killed in separate helicopter crashes, marking the biggest loss of American life on a single day in four years.
"Afghanistan: UN guesthouse seige ends, 9 killed(28 Oct 2009)" From IslamAndWorldPeace
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