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AFP
Kabul
Visitors to an upmarket Kabul hotel attacked by Taliban gunmen have described glaring security breaches before the assailants went on a bloody rampage targeting guests, in a city constantly under threat.
Bags were not checked, scanners did not work and body searches were non-existent, according to witnesses, as the private company providing security to the state-owned Intercontinental Hotel comes under the spotlight.
A reporter and driver visited the landmark 1960s building on a hilltop overlooking the Afghan capital on Saturday, hours before the assault began.
They described cursory security checks by KBSS, accounts confirmed by other recent visitors."We were told the scanning machines were not working today,"said telecom executive Aziz Tayeb, who hid behind a pillar during the assault.
"I also didn't see any armed guard in the scan room just before you enter the building or inside,"he said, adding his bags were not searched.
"In the past two weeks, I went to the hotel with my family twice. Out of the three or four checkpoints before the main entrance only one of them checked our car. We were not even body-searched,"Ahmad Shafi, a frequent visitor, said.
