Kabul Hotel Attack : Pearl Continental Hotel Terrorist Attack Video

AFGHANISTAN - Jerome Starkey reports from Kabul. Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen staged an all-out offensive on a top Kabul hotel Tuesday, sparking a five-hour battle with security forces which saw seven people killed. The attack came on the eve of a conference to discuss Afghan takeover plans.Afghan officials said today they would not be deterred by the "coward enemies" that attacked Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel late Tuesday night in a brazen assault that left 20 dead."The transition process will be done, and these coward enemies will not stop our plans," chairman of the transition committee Ashraf Ghani said, according to The Associated Press.

More than five hours after insurgents unleashed a deadly assault on Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel Tuesday night, Afghan commandos in night vision goggles managed to retake the hotel with the help of NATO special operations forces but not before nine civilians, two police and all nine attackers were killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after it began.The United Kingdom condemns the attack on the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul in the strongest terms."Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims of this terrible crime. Acts of terrorism such as this not only show contempt for human life but also seek to undermine public confidence in the progress that has been made in Afghanistan.