Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul#2011 attack

File:Intercontinental Kabul Sign rectified.JPG

File:A view from Kabul InterContinental.jpg

Construction started on the Hotel Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul in April 1967 and it opened on 9 September 1969. It was developed by the InterContinental Hotels division of Pan Am and built by UK-based Taylor Woodrow construction.

The hotel has had no association with InterContinental Hotels since 1980, following the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Despite this it continues to use the name and logo without connection to the parent company.{{cite news|last1=Janjua|first1=Haroon|last2=Graham-Harrison|first2=Emma|last3=Siddique|first3=Haroon|title=Afghan forces end Kabul hotel siege that left at least six dead|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/20/guests-flee-as-gunmen-open-fire-in-luxury-hotel-in-kabul|work=The Guardian|date=21 January 2018}} The Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul is currently owned by the Bakhshisade family.

During the 1990s civil war it began receiving damage due to street warfare by militia men. In 1996, only 85 of the hotel's 200 rooms were habitable due to damage from rockets and shells.{{cite news|title=Kabul wants all foreigners in same hotel|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=65wkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8jEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6574,3654287&dq=hotel+kabul+inter-continental&hl=en|access-date=28 June 2011|newspaper=The Nation|date=10 November 1996}} It was extensively used by Western journalists during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 as it was the only large-sized hotel still operating in the capital at the time.

In 2003 the hotel pool had no water and the gym was missing all of its furniture. The hotel had several power cuts per day. There were still bullet holes throughout the building, including the windows of the restaurant on the first floor. The furniture in the rooms was simple but clean. In February 2003, a British intelligence agent named Colin Berry, who had been involved in the recovery of surface-to-air missiles and other covert operations, was involved in a gun battle in the hotel.{{Cite news|date=2003-08-28|title=Briton released from Afghan jail|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/essex/3189741.stm|access-date=2020-12-18}} As a result, two Afghans were killed.

The hotel went through a $25 million renovation by a Dubai based company.{{Which|date=June 2011}} It is the landmark used at the start of the Hash House Harriers weekly events. {{when|date=July 2020}} The rooms are decorated according to international standard, equipped with air conditioner, heater, TV, mini-bar, phone and radio. English, German and French TV channels are also available. It has an internet cafe located in the basement. The telephone system is still operated by its original old manual switchboard, which was manufactured by Siemens.

From 2005 to 2007, the top-floor presidential suite has been converted and used as office space by the Senlis Council, a European advocacy group, since then rebranded as The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS). All Senlis Council expat staff were based in the hotel.

{{Main|2011 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack}}

On 28 June 2011, an attack by armed suicide bombers, and an ensuing five-hour siege,{{cite web |publisher=CNN|title=Bombers attack luxury hotel in Kabul|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/06/28/afghanistan.kabul.attack/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630183006/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/06/28/afghanistan.kabul.attack/|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 June 2011|access-date=28 June 2011}}{{cite web|title=About 13 killed in Kabul hotel attack|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-06/29/c_13955160.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702100606/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-06/29/c_13955160.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 July 2011|publisher=Xinhua News Agency|access-date=29 June 2011|date=28 June 2011}} left at least 21 people dead, including all nine attackers.{{cite web|title=Afghan attack left mass of bodies at luxury hotel|url=http://picayuneitem.com/international/x652254345/Afghan-attack-left-mass-of-bodies-at-luxury-hotel|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=30 June 2011|agency=Associated Press|date=30 June 2011}}{{cite news|agency=Reuters |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/suicide-bombers-attack-top-hotel-in-afghan-capital-1.370119 |title=Suicide bombers attack top hotel in Afghan capital|work=Haaretz|date=29 June 2011|access-date=30 June 2011}} Responsibility was claimed by the Taliban.{{cite web|title=Manager gives account of Kabul hotel attack|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/06/2011629122328109278.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=29 June 2011|author=Safeeyah Kharsany and Mujib Mashal|date=29 June 2011}}

{{Main article|2018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack}}

On 20 January 2018, a group of four or five gunmen attacked the hotel, sparking a 12-hour battle.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42761881|title=Gunmen attack major Kabul hotel|date=20 January 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=21 January 2018|language=en-GB}} The attack left at least 42 people dead and more than 14 others injured.{{Cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/22/world/asia/kabul-hotel-attack.html|title=After Kabul Hotel Attack, Security Plan Queried as Death Toll Rises|date=22 January 2018|work=The New York Times|language=en-US}}

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{{Commons category|Hotel Intercontinental, Kabul}}

• [https://www.intercontinentalkabul.com/ Intercontinental Hotel Kabul official website]

{{InterContinental Hotels Group}}

{{Kabul Province}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inter-Continental Kabul}}

Category:Hotels in Kabul

Category:InterContinental hotels

Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul

Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul

Category:Hotels established in 1969

Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul