The Taliban just attacked a major international hotel in the Afghan capital – a rare move for the mostly provincial insurgency. Uri Friedman is live-blogging:
3:30 – As we wait for updates, we're getting some background on the hotel and why the attack is significant. Journalist Matthieu Aikins notes that the hotel, which sits on a hill in western Kabul, is a "haunt of expats and Afghan elite" while Najafizada adds that provincial governors were staying in the hotel in recent days for a conference. A guest tells the AP that the attack began when many people were having dinner in the hotel's restaurant, and that he'd heard gunfire throughout the building. "This was a well planned attack," writes the BBC's Bilal Sarwary. "Terrorists change of tactic, attack during night, surprised everyone." Najafizada, meanwhile, is still hearing machine gun fire despite reports that the situation is under control.
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