Afghan president condemns Taliban for attack

UPDATE: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the Taliban for Wednesday night’s attack that killed 14, including an American, a British citizen, an Italian, four Indian nationals, and two Pakistanis. Five Afghans were also among the dead and seven were wounded, including one Afghan policeman. Ghani said in a statement that “terrorists and enemies of Afghanistan cannot harm our country’s relationships with other countries with these activities.” The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an email distributed to media.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (May 13, 8:36 p.m.): Gunman stormed a guesthouse at the Park Palace Hotel in Kabul, killing five, including an American. Six people were wounded and 54 hostages were rescued in a siege that began Wednesday evening and ended early Thursday morning.

Throughout the evening, sporadic gunfire and explosions could be heard echoing around the guesthouse in an area of the Afghan capital that’s home to United Nations compounds and a foreign-run hospital.

Amin Habi, a U.S. citizen from Los Angeles, told The Associated Press that a party honoring a Canadian was taking place in the guesthouse when the gunmen attacked.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Monica Cummings said in a statement that a U.S. citizen was killed in the attack, although she had no further details and did not identify the victim. She added that the U.S. Embassy was in close contact with Afghan authorities and was working to obtain more information. “Our thoughts are with the families of the victims,” she said.

Amar Sinha, India’s ambassador to Afghanistan, said he believed at least six of the hostages were Indian citizens.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Caitlin Workman said all staff at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul were “safe and accounted for.”

Police officers earlier freed some 20 people trapped in the guesthouse, including one wounded, but others remained inside, said Zia Massoud, an Afghan government official.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though the Taliban have attacked guesthouses before in Kabul.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.