The attack about the Kabul longan hotel in afghanistan : A revenge against the Chinese

At 14:30 local time (18:05 Beijing time) on December 12, 2022, the Longan Hotel in Kabul was attacked by terrorists in the Shar-e-Naw area (the 10th police district (PD-10)). Multiple explosions and gunfire were heard at the scene.

Longan Hotel is one of the main buildings of Kabul Chinatown, which was prepared by Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce. It is the largest hotel operated by China in Afghanistan, with a total of 10 floors. The specific coordinates are G5P8+349, Kabul (34.53514632713695, 69.16518683721597). It is located in the first street of Ansari Road, near Jamia Masjid Mosque. The second floor of the hotel is the Kabul Logan Chinese restaurant.

Pictures of Kabul Logan Chinese Restaurant
Satellite Map of Kabul Longan Hotel
Longan Hotel, Kabul, Afghanistan

After the attack, there were multiple explosions and fierce gunfights at the scene, and two foreigners tried to escape from the hotel’s third floor through window. A fire broke out on the second floor on the southeast side of the hotel, and the smoke spread to the roof through the central pipe, producing a large amount of white smoke.

Two foreigners (Chinese) tried to escape the scene from the guest room window on the third floor of the hotel
Fire on the 2nd floor of the hotel
One person jumped from the fourth floor of the hotel, and the casualties are unknown
Many people are trapped and trying to save themselves

After the attack, at 16:00 local time (19:30 Beijing time) in Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban special disposal force arrived near the hotel to fight with terrorists and launch rescue operations. At 16:58 local time in Afghanistan (20:33 Beijing time), an official spokesman of the Taliban in Afghanistan said that the operation was over, and three terrorists involved in the attack were killed. No foreigners were killed. Two foreigners were injured when they jumped off the roof. The pictures at the scene show that the terrorists carried suicide attack devices.

Afghan Taliban soldiers near the hotel attack site
Taliban police forces arrive at the scene

At present, the casualties of the attack are still unclear. According to the information of the local Chinese in Afghanistan, only one Chinese chef in the hotel was injured. According to the information of the EMERGENCY NGO organization located in the 10th police district, its hospital has received 21 injured people, three of whom died on the way to hospital (later proved to be Taliban members). At 18:10 local time in Afghanistan (21:46 Beijing time), local sources said that the number of casualties was 3 terrorists, 3 Afghan Taliban, 5 local Afghans and at least 25 injured. At present, the Afghan Interim Government has conducted news control, and the official casualty data has not been released.

Introduction to the attackers of the hotel attack

After the attack, ISKP claimed the attack and released relevant information about the two attackers. On December 12 local time in Afghanistan, Abu Omar and Abdul Jabbar, two attackers affiliated to ISKP, checked into the Longan Hotel in Kabul, and took pictures and recorded promotional videos in a room on the 7th floor (presumably “one room, one hall”, that is, the big bed room, because the room is large, there is enough shooting space, and the wardrobe patterns are similar to the photos released by the attackers). They raised a flag of “Islamic State” and displayed their weapons.

Comparison between the photos released by the attackers and the seats and decorations in the rooms of Longan Hotel

The attackers carried two 9mm Makarov pistols, nine magazines, nine F-1 grenades, 20 fixed explosives and suicide belts with UZRGM fuses. They did not choose to use automatic rifles such as AK-47, which should be related to the strict security measures of the hotel.

Two attackers put weapons and ammunition on the iconic black chairs in the hotel

On December 12, two terrorists launched an attack on the 7th floor and opened fire with pistols on the hotel staff. The attackers opened fire on the 7th floor and then went downstairs. At least one of them exchanged fire with the arrived security personnel on the 3rd and 4th floors. Considering that the amount of ammunition carried by the attackers is about 30-40 rounds per person, they will use hand grenades to deter the attacks of security personnel and the Taliban, so gunfire and explosions continue to appear. After a fire, one of them detonated a suicide belt, causing great damage. At the same time. After the gunfight stopped, there were sporadic explosions in the building. Finally, about 2 hours later, the Taliban took control of the situation and began to rescue the trapped guests in the building one by one.

In terms of casualties, local sources said that three terrorists died, three Taliban members died, five local Afghans died and at least 25 others were injured. According to Chinese overseas reports, five Chinese were injured in the attack, including one female who was seriously injured by falling from a high place.

According to the types of weapons carried by the attackers, the main cause of death of guests in the hotel should be pistol shooting, while the injured (such as Taliban members with obvious leg injuries) were injured by pistol shells or F-1 grenade fragments. It is precisely because of the low lethality of the 9mm pistol bullet compared with the automatic rifle bullet that the majority of the injured are injured.

After the attack, ISKP made public the target of the attack and their swearing video before the attack. Afghans said that the two attackers had a Central Asian accent, not Pashtuns. At the same time, their relatively “modern” dress and facial features were more consistent with those from Central Asia, which was obviously different from dark Uyghur militants and Afghan local terrorists with a lot of beards. According to the relevant information of Chinese in Afghanistan, the security standard of the hotel is very high. Generally, only foreigners can stay in the hotel. However, some Afghans said that Afghans with EU passports can also stay in the hotel. Therefore, in this attack case, the attackers may have stayed in the hotel by forging passports and pretending to be foreigners.

At 14:30 local time (18:05 Beijing time) on December 12, 2022, the Longan Hotel in Kabul was attacked by terrorists in the Shar-e-Naw area (the 10th police district (PD-10)). Multiple explosions and gunfire were heard at the scene. Longan Hotel is one of the main buildings of Kabul Chinatown, which…

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