Taliban gun down Kabul diners in pre-election attack

Afghan security officials display the weapons and bullets of Taliban insurgents that were killed last night in a luxury hotel in Kabul March 21, 2014. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

KABUL (Reuters) - A Taliban assault on the restaurant of a luxury hotel, considered one of the safest places in Kabul and frequented by foreigners and Afghan officials, has swelled a tide of violence sweeping Afghanistan two weeks before a presidential election.

Taliban gunmen smuggled tiny pistols past the Serena hotel's heavy security cordon and waited for the restaurant to fill up for an Afghan New Year dinner before emerging to shoot diners point-blank. Three children between two and five were found with bullets in their heads. Four of the nine dead were foreigners.