Kabul attacker wore police uniform; toll at 8

Deadliest hotel attack since '01
It was the deadliest direct attack on a hotel in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

The assailants appeared to concentrate their assault on the Serena’s gym and spa, where foreigners relax and work out at night, suggesting the militants had cased the hotel in advance.

The Taliban has targeted aid workers and civilian contractors with kidnappings and killings, but this was the most daring and sophisticated attack yet and was aimed at a prominent symbol of foreign presence in the country, apparently designed to point out the vulnerability of the Western presence.

Taliban have typically focused their attacks on Western and Afghan government or security personnel, not Western civilians.

The multipronged assault began around 6 p.m., when the Norwegian Embassy was hosting a meeting at the Serena for visiting Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described Stoere as the target of the attack.

Witnesses said they first heard gunfire, then several explosions — likely from hand grenades — and also one large blast — the suicide bomb.

“There were two or three bombs and there was complete chaos,” Stian L. Solum, a photographer from the Norwegian photo agency Scanpix, told Norway’s state radio network NRK. “When I started to walk out (of the elevator), a bomb went off a little way from me. There were shots fired by what I think was an ANA (Afghan National Army) soldier.”

In Washington, two State Department officials said that one American citizen had been killed. The victim’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the attack was carried out by extremists “killing innocent people to pursue their political objectives.

“It underscores the reason we have to stay on the offense against the extremists in places like Kabul but also in other places around the world,” she said. “We’re in for a long, hard fight. These are deliberate, patient people who will murder innocents including our own people.”

There are more than 50,000 troops from at least 39 countries, including about 25,000 U.S. forces, in Afghanistan.

Norwegian reporter slain
A reporter for the Oslo newspaper Dagbladet, identified as Carsten Thomassen, 38, died from wounds he sustained in the attack, according to the paper’s Web site. “We feel great sorrow and powerlessness,” managing editor Anne Aasheim said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists mourned Thomassen’s killing, calling it a reminder of the dangers that exist in countries like Afghanistan.

A Norwegian Foreign Ministry employee was also among the wounded but was out of danger at a Kabul hospital, officials said.

The 177-room Serena is a newly built luxury hotel frequently used by foreign embassies for meetings, parties and dinners. The nicest hotel in the city, visiting Westerners often stay, eat and work out there. Located in downtown Kabul, it is near the presidential palace, although separated by fences, blast walls and checkpoints. It is also near several government ministries and a district police station.

On its Web site, the hotel bills itself as an “oasis of luxury in a war-ravaged city.” The Serena has a double-gated entrance for cars, several armed guards and a metal detector at the entrance.

“In the wake of this attack, the management will strive to further reinforce the security in and around the hotel to prevent further attacks and ensure the safety of its guests and staff,” the company said in a statement from Paris.

While the number of casualties from the attack could have been higher, the militants were still able to penetrate a well-guarded and high-profile target, a symbol of progress in an otherwise downtrodden capital.

The reverberations of the attack could be felt for months. While Western aid workers, embassy employees and businessmen enjoy a fair amount of freedom of movement in Kabul, security companies could now restrain their Western clients from visiting restaurants at night if the Taliban start targeting them.

More from msnbc.com Power struggle threatens Pakistan’s leader  Swine flu booster shots? Good luck with that   From Levi to Letterman: Palin's rough year U.S. widening definition for disability at work  Ice addict heads for poles, Everest | Trek posts On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM SOUTH & CENTRAL ASIA

South & Central Asia Section Front

Power struggle threatens Pakistan’s leader Goodbye to goodwill for Pakistan president Bomber slays 4 near Pakistan air base French, Afghan troops push into hostile valley Fabled Foreign Legion finds a new war to fight Clinton says Karzai ‘must do better’ South & Central Asia Section Front   Add South & Central Asia headlines to your news reader: