2014 Kabul Serena Hotel attack

Not to be confused with 2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack.

2014 Kabul Serena Hotel attack
Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
File:Serena Hotel in Kabul.jpg Kabul Serena Hotel
Location	Kabul, Afghanistan
Date	March 20, 2014 (2014-03-20) 20:30 – 23:30 (UTC+4:30)
Target	Foreign election observers and journalists
Attack type	Suicide attack
Deaths	9 (+4 attackers)
Injured	2
Perpetrators	Taliban

The 2014 Kabul Serena Hotel attack was a mass shooting at the restaurant of the Kabul Serena Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 20, 2014 for which the Taliban claimed responsibility. Four teenage gunmen entered the restaurant of the hotel, opening fire with handguns against patrons and sparking a three-hour standoff with Afghan security forces. At least nine people were reported killed in the assault, including five Afghans and four foreigners. Among the victims was former Paraguyan diplomat Luis Maria Duarte, who was in the country as an international observer in the upcoming Presidential elections. Afghan authorities later announced that four women and two children were among the victims, which included nationals of New Zealand, Pakistan, India and Canada. At least two of the hotel's security guards were injured during the assault as well.

In 2008 there was a bomb and firearms attack in the hotel's gym. In that attack on January 14, 2008 six people were killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

The attack

The four underage teenager attackers killed nine hotel guests. After a gunfight with the police, four of the attackers died in the shootout.

Victims

Those killed were: two women from Canada, two Bangladeshis, a man and a woman with dual USA/Bangladesh citizenship, a woman from New Zealand, a man from Pakistan, eight Afghans (include a family of three), and one Paraguayan.

Nationalities of the Serena Hotel Attacks

Nationality	Victims	Attackers	Total
Afghanistan	4	3	7
Bangladesh	1 (+ 1)		1 (+1 woman with dual U.S.-Bangladeshi citizenship)
Canada	2		2
New Zealand	1		1
Pakistan	0	1	1
Paraguay	1		1
USA	1 *		1
Total (7 nationalities)	9	4	13

Notable victims:

• Luis Maria Duarte, former ambassador of Paraguay to Afghanistan, United Nations lawyer.
• Sardar Ahmad, Afghan journalist for Agence France-Presse, killed along with his wife and two children; their third child was badly injured.

Perpetrators

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.

See also

• 2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack: A similar attack that occurred on the same hotel 6 years prior.
• 2015 Park Palace guesthouse attack: An attack by the Taliban on a Kabul guesthouse hosting foreign nationals.