UPDATE - 3 assailants killed in Kabul hotel attack

UPDATES WITH SECURITY OPERATION; ADDS DETAILS; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Anadolu Agency staff

KABUL (AA) - At least three armed assailants were killed in an hour-long security operation after they stormed a hotel in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, officials and local media reported.

"The security operation has been culminated with the killing of all the three attackers," Deputy Information Minister Zabihullah Mujahid said in a brief statement, without further details.

Two foreign nationals, whose identity and nationality were not revealed, were also injured, when they jumped off the roof in an attempt to save their lives.

"All the guests lodged in the hotel are safe. Only two foreign guests have been injured after they jumped off the roof," Mujahid noted.

According to eyewitnesses, cited by local media, the attack was carried out on a Chinese hotel in the high-end Shahar-e-Nau neighborhood of the city.

It was also learned that the attackers entered the hotel and started shooting randomly.

Many heavily-armed Taliban members were seen rushing into the hotel, while explosions and gunshots were heard from time to time in the area.

An amateur video aired on local TV channels shows thick columns of smoke emanating from the upper portion of the yellow-colored multi-story building, with plumes of fire billowing upwards from a lower portion.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but the terrorist network Daesh/ISIS has long been involved in a series of terrorist attacks and bombings across the war-torn country, particularly after the Taliban's storming back to the power in August last year.