Kabul hotel attacker trained by Pak’s ISI: Afghanistan’s UN envoy

TIL Desk/World/Washington/ Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, trained a terrorist involved in the attack on Kabul’s iconic Intercontinental Hotel in which over 20 people were killed, a top Afghanistan envoy has alleged. Afghanistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mahmoud Saikal, made the serious allegation against the ISI in a tweet yesterday.

“Abdul Qahar, father of one of the terrorists involved in last week attack on #Kabul Intercontinental Hotel, concedes his son was trained in Chaman of #Balochistan Province of #Pakistan by the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan. Qahar is currently in custody of Afg authorities,” Saikal tweeted.

On January 20, Taliban men armed with Kalashnikovs and suicide vests attacked the landmark Intercontinental Hotel and killed around 25 people, going from room to room searching for foreigners during the more than 12-hour ordeal. A mid-level diplomat at the Afghan embassy in the United States has alleged that the attack was planned by Pakistan.

“A clear proof that the attack on Kabul’s Inter (Con) Hotel was planned in a madrasa, on Pakistan’s soil. Abdul Qahar, the father of one of the suicide attackers is an eyewitness of the story,” tweeted Majeed Qarar, Cultural Attache at the Embassy of Afghanistan.

“The night vision goggles found with Taliban attackers in maiwand’s ANA base were military grade goggles (not sold to public) procured by Pak army from a British company & supplied 2 Lashkar-e-Tayyeba in Kashmir & Taliban in Afghanistan. Lashkar-e-Tayyeba is an int’l terrorist org,” he said in another tweet.