Kabul attack left mass of bodies at hotel

KABUL, Afghanistan - Hotel guest Abdul Zahir Faizada watched as a uniformed gunman shoved a man to the ground and shot him to death at point-blank range. Suddenly, gunfire erupted and another assailant blew himself up.

By the time the siege of the luxury Inter-Continental Hotel ended on Wednesday, 20 people lay dead - including nine attackers, all of whom wore suicide-bomber vests - and one of Kabul's premier landmarks was left a grisly scene of bodies, shrapnel and shattered glass.

It was one of the biggest and most complex attacks ever orchestrated in the Afghan capital and appeared designed to show that the insurgents are capable of striking even in the center of power at a time when US officials are speaking of progress in the nearly 10-year war.