1 police officer killed in hotel bombing in Afghanistan

KABUL — A group of militants, including a suicide truck bomber, targeted a Kabul guesthouse for foreign contractors early Monday, killing one police officer and wounding four, Afghan authorities said.

The Interior Ministry said “terrorists” used a truck full of explosives to breach the perimeter wall of the Northgate Hotel around 1:30 a.m. Three gunmen then entered the premises and started shooting.

According to its website, it offers the same services as most hotels, along with high security, sniffer dogs, airport transfers and “background checks, if necessary.”

The ministry’s statement on the hotel attack said police commandos arrived and surrounded the facility, but had to be careful because fuel tankers were stored in the area.

Monday’s attack followed a massive suicide bombing that struck a peaceful rally by Afghanistan’s minority ethnic Hazara community on July 23 that killed more than 80 people and wounded hundreds.