Suicide Bombers Hit Afghan Capital Kabul

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for a series of explosions which killed at least 17 victims in the Afghan capital.

Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesman for the insurgents, said they were behind suicide bombings which targeted hotels used by foreigners in Kabul.

Police said 17 people including Afghans, foreigners - mostly Indians - and police have been killed, with at least 32 others wounded.

The attackers appear to have targeted three points in a triangle between hotels the Park Residence and the Safi Landmark, on a main road, and a smaller building, believed to be a guesthouse, on a sidestreet.

Reporter Jerome Starkey, at the scene, told Sky News: "We understand the first suicide bomb was packed into a vehicle which exploded outside the Hamid Guesthouse, popular, locals say, with Indian contractors working in the city.

An Afghan official holds a scarf to his face as he stands at the site of a blast in Kabul

"About 30 meters away, another guesthouse, the Park Residence, was also attacked.

"Shortly after the explosions police started opening fire and that gun battle lasted four hours, but its not exactly clear whether they were fighting militants or whether they were clearing buildings room by room."

There were three suicide bombings in total, while two would-be bombers were shot dead, according to officials.

Hotel worker Najibullah said he ran out of the four-star Safi Landmark, one of the city's biggest hotels, in his underwear when he heard the first explosion.

"I saw foreigners were crying and shouting," said the 25-year-old, whose face and hands were covered in *lo**.

"It was a very bad situation inside. God helped me, otherwise I would be dead. I saw one suicide bomber blowing himself up on the first floor of the hotel."

Military personnel on the alert in Kabul following the bombings

Wounded Indian doctor Subod Sanjirpal said he saw several injured and dead bodies in his hotel.

"I (was) confined in my bathroom at least three hours when firing (was) going on, first car bomb got exploded, then full roof came on my head," he said.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard in the area, which was cordoned off by police, more than an hour after the initial explosion which sent clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky.

Afghan police, armed with Kalashnikov rifles, exchanged gunshots with another suspected attacker before taking cover in the doorways of shops.

Residents were told by loud speaker to stay in their homes while the sound of sirens wailed through the streets.

The explosions struck around a day after the Afghan flag was raised over a southern town at the centre of a US-led offensive designed to evict Taliban militants and reinstate Afghan government control.

Kabul has been relatively peaceful for a month.

The last major incident was on January 18 when gunmen stormed the commercial heart of the city, taking over buildings, detonating suicide vests and killing at least five people.