Afghanistan's 'Mumbai-esque' hotel attack: 3 lessons

A Taliban suicide squad stages a daring attack on a heavily guarded hotel in the Afghan capital. What does this say about America's longest war?

Flames explode and smoke billows upward from the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul on Wednesday, after an attack by a Taliban suicide squad.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Stringer)

On Tuesday, eight armed members of the Taliban attacked the historic Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, where a meeting of Afghanistan's provincial governors was to take place the next day. The attackers killed at least 11 people, including five hotel workers and three Afghan policemen, and were only stopped when two NATO helicopter gunships killed three insurgents staging a last stand on the hotel's roof. Some of the attackers had blown themselves up with suicide bombs during the hours-long attack. The Intercontinental is one of the Afghan capital's best-known and best-protected landmarks, and popular with journalists and foreigners. Here, three things this daring attack says about the war:

1. The Taliban are still a threat, even in Kabul

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