KABUL ATTACK RENEWS FEARS FOR FOREIGNERS
Suspected insurgents fired a rocket Saturday at a luxury hotel in Kabul that had come under attack before, injuring two people and rekindling fears that foreigners are being targeted in the Afghan capital.
The rocket hit just outside the perimeter wall of the Serena Hotel, where a number of foreign humanitarian workers, forced to relocate after a deadly strike on a U.N. guesthouse last month, have been staying. It's also the hotel of choice among visiting diplomats.
Afghanistan's only five-star hotel, the Serena was the scene of a major attack in January 2008, when it was stormed by gunmen and suicide bombers in a coordinated assault that killed seven people.
Security was tightened in the wake of that strike, and the hotel resembles a fortress. With a night's stay costing more than most Afghans earn in a month, the clientele is nearly all foreign.
In recent months, insurgents have been lobbing rockets into the capital with increasing frequency. The poorly aimed projectiles, usually fired from the city's outskirts, rarely cause serious damage or injuries, but do generate a sense of unease.
NEWS SERVICES
