KABUL, Afghanistan – The Latest on Afghanistan, where gunmen stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in the capital, Kabul (all times local):
12:15 p.m.An Afghan official says insurgents have killed 18 members of a pro-government militia in northern Afghanistan, in an attack claimed by the Taliban.
Gen. Abdul Razeq Qaderi, the deputy police chief of Balkh province, says the insurgents burst into a home where several members of the Local Uprising Forces were gathered late Saturday. He says the attackers led them outside and shot them dead. One of those killed was a tribal elder who served as the local police commander.
The Local Uprising Forces operate under the Interior Ministry.
Gen. Mahruf Folad, the police chief of the western Farah province, meanwhile said a roadside bomb killed a deputy police chief and wounded four other police early Sunday.
The Taliban claimed both attacks.
9 a.m.An Afghan official says at least five civilians have been killed after gunmen stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul and have been fighting security forces for 11 hours into Sunday morning.
Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish says six other civilians are reported to be wounded and more than 100 people, including 16 foreigners, have been rescued from the hotel.
The bodies of four attackers have been recovered as security forces continued to clear the landmark hotel.
Danish says security forces are going room-by-room to make sure all attackers have been accounted for.
No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which started around 9 p.m. Saturday.