Kabul, June 30(ANI): NATO has said that it has killed a top Haqqani network leader suspected of aiding militants that attacked a popular hotel in Afghanistan late Tuesday.
In a statement, NATO said that it killed Ismail Jan and several other Haqqani fighters in an airstrike in Afghanistan's Paktiya province near the Pakistani border.
Jan was the deputy to the senior Haqqani commander in Afghanistan, and has led a group of fighters in attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces since late 2010, VOA News quoted the statement, as saying.
Eight heavily armed insurgents had stormed the Inter-Continental hotel in Kabul on Tuesday night, setting of explosions and exchanging gunfire with authorities for hours.
The five-hour highly coordinated siege of the hotel by militants ended early Wednesday after all nine attackers either blew themselves up or were killed by Afghan and NATO forces. The attack killed 11 people, including Afghan hotel workers, police officers, and one Spanish guest, the report said, adding that eight others were also wounded.
NATO blamed the attack on the Haqqani network, which it says worked along with Taliban militants. The Taliban has also claimed responsibility for the terror strike .
The siege on the Inter-Continental hotel came on the eve of a conference focused on Afghan preparations for the security handover, the reort said, noting that several Afghan provincial officials taking part in the event were staying at the hotel.
The Inter-Continental was for years the Afghan capital's main hotel, and is frequented by foreigners. Afghan security officials say they are investigating how the militants were able to get past several security checkpoints to reach the hotel. (ANI)
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