Gunmen stormed a downtown Kabul guesthouse on Wednesday, May 13, at about 8:30 pm local time (1600 GMT), trapping several foreigners awaiting a planned concert and triggering a shootout with security forces, with fears of multiple casualties. Amar Sinha, the Indian ambassador in Kabul, told AFP his embassy was in contact with up to five Indian nationals stuck inside the guesthouse who were safe.

Roads leading up to the Park Palace, frequented by foreigners and international aid agency workers, were blocked by a large number of security personnel who arrived after the attack, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi, who was at the scene of the ongoing attack, said security forces were trying to get inside the guesthouse, but were facing heavy gunfire from the assailants. The attack comes a day after a visit to Kabul by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who assured Afghanistan of Islamabad's full support in its battle against the Taliban, saying "the enemies of Afghanistan cannot be the friends of Pakistan".

Afghan security forces arrive outside the guest house | Source : SMH