Smash hit

“The third person, after killing a number of the guests, maybe he changed his mind for some reason, he didn’t detonate himself,” Saleh said.

“He changed his clothes and later when security forces searched the premises, he was arrested.”

Zabihullah Mujahed, a Taleban spokesman, said that four men armed with Kalashnikovs “entered the Serena hotel and fired on foreigners”.

The official spokesman of the Kabul Serena said today that the $250-a-night hotel was closed for repairs, including damage caused by bullets and grenades.

Expert View

The Serena is not just a hotel but the five-star symbol of post-Taleban Kabul

Richard Beeston, Foreign Editor of The Times

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“This will certainly affect our business,” said the spokesman, who asked not to be identified. “The hotel was helping drive business in Afghanistan by creating a safe haven for international businessmen that wanted to invest and work here. This will dent that confidence.”

There was confusion over the death toll. Mr Saleh said that three Americans and a French woman were among those killed, but the US Embassy said that only one American citizen had died. The French embassy was not aware of any French casualties.

The hotel is popular with the city's Afghan business class and attracts foreign military guests, as well as diplomats and aid workers. On its website it describes itself as "an oasis of luxury in a war-ravaged city".

The Serena spokesman said that three hotel employees and two guards were killed during the attack. Officials have said that Norwegian daily newspaper Dagbladet correspondent Carsten Thomassen also died, as did one US citizen, and the Philippines Foreign Affairs Department said that a Filipina spa supervisor who was wounded in the attack has died today.

Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, said that Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, who was due to host a dinner in the hotel, had been the target of the attack.

Bo Asplund, the top UN representative in the country, said that the attack was a matter of great concern, representing “a deliberate targeting of foreign guests and Afghan civilians”.

“The international community has been present here for many years, enjoying the hospitality and generosity of its Afghan hosts,” Mr Asplund said in a statement.

“Its work is driven by the shared belief that peace and progress must prevail over war and suffering. This was an attack on those values, and a senseless crime.”

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