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Police Officer Killed in Attack on Kabul Hotel


A security guard stands amid the damage of a truck bombing, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016.
A security guard stands amid the damage of a truck bombing, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016.

A suicide bomb attack on a hotel compound in Afghanistan's capital ended Monday with the deaths of one policeman and all three attackers.

Kabul's police chief General Abdul Rahman Rahimi said one suicide bomber died when he blew up his explosives-laden truck Monday morning outside the security wall of the Northgate Hotel, just east of the Kabul airport.

The Northgate houses foreign contractors, including Americans.

Police say the explosion was felt throughout Kabul and knocked out power across much of the city.

An Afghan policeman guards on a road leading to the site of an explosion, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016.
An Afghan policeman guards on a road leading to the site of an explosion, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 1, 2016.

Rahimi said two other attackers tried to enter the hotel, but police fired on them, forcing them to take shelter in a nearby compound. The attackers were killed in an ensuing battle that lasted for several hours. One police officer was killed and three others wounded in the exchange of fire.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ayesha Tanzeem contributed to this report from Islamabad.

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