US, UK warn of security threat to top luxury hotel in Kabul

Washington/London : The United States and the United Kingdom have advised their citizens to refrain from staying in Kabul hotels, especially the Serena Hotel, due to increased security risks.

“Because of security threats at the Serena Hotel, we advise US citizens to avoid traveling to the hotel and the surrounding vicinity,” the US Embassy in Afghanistan said in a security alert on Sunday.

All Americans who are at or near the Serena Hotel should leave immediately, the mission added.

“In light of the increased risks you are advised not to stay in hotels, particularly in Kabul (such as the Serena Hotel),” an updated foreign travel advice by the British government read.

The Serena Hotel, popular with business travelers and foreign guests, earned ill fame as one of the targets for terrorist attacks by the Taliban. In 2008, a suicide attack on the top luxury hotel killed six. In 2014, an attack perpetrated by teenage terrorist fighters claimed nine lives. The most recent attack of March 2020, when a rocket hit the outskirts of the hotel left two people injured.

Afghanistan has been ruled by the Taliban since mid-August.

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