Elite Afghan police backed by Nato forces ended a 12-hour siege on Friday at a popular lakeside hotel outside Kabul, leaving at least 20 dead after Taliban gunmen stormed the lakeside building, bursting into a party and seizing dozens of hostages. The night-time assault on the hotel with rocket-propelled grenades, suicide vests and machine guns again proved how potent the insurgency remains after a decade of war.
The commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan said the attack bore the signature of the Taliban-linked Haqqani group that he said continued to operate from Pakistan, a charge that could further escalate tensions with Islamabad. General John Allen's comments come days after US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Washington was at the limits of its patience with Pakistan over the existence of militant networks including the Haqqanis.