Afghanistan: 3 dead in suicide bombing at hotel

A suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle outside a small hotel frequented by foreigners just after dawn, killing at least three guards in the latest of a rising number of violent attacks in northern Afghanistan.After the attacker detonated his cache of explosives, two other militants stormed inside the hotel in Kunduz city and engaged police in a two-hour gunbattle, said MubobullahSayedi, a provincial spokesman.Three hotel guards were killed and 10 other people, including an Afghan policeman, were wounded, he said. Foreigners staying at the two-story hotel escaped through the rear of the building, he said. The inn burned and several nearby buildings were damaged.Ahmadullah, who uses just one name, said he and his family quickly ran out of the neighbourhood to a relatives house nearby. Worried that they were still too close to the fighting, they moved even farther away to seek protection in another relatives house.Fighting has been focused in southern and eastern Afghanistan, but insurgents have been conducting a rising number of attacks in the once-peaceful north.Late last month, a vehicle carrying the deputy governor of Kunduz province struck a roadside bomb, injuring three of his bodyguards. In June, a bombing at a bazaar in the province killed at least 10 people. Also in June, three policemen were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself outside a mosque and another bomber hit a German NATO convoy, killing three civilians.In May, a suicide bomber infiltrated a high-level meeting in neighboring Takhar province and killed northern Afghanistans top police commander, Gen. Mohammed Daoud, provincial police chief Shah JehanNoori and two German soldiers. The German NATO commander in northern Afghanistan was wounded.Late last year, a suicide bomber killed Kunduz Governor Mohammed Omar and 15 other people at a mosque in neighboring Takhar province.