Five gunmen dressed in army uniforms managed to get through two checkpoints before entering the hilltop Intercontinental and opening fire on Saturday.
Fourteen foreigners were among those killed in the raid. Eleven of them have been identified as working for the private Afghan airline KamAir.


The US state department has now confirmed that some Americans were among the dead and wounded, without giving exact numbers.


It said: "We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed and wish for the speedy recovery of those wounded.


"Out of respect for the families of the deceased, we have no further comment."


Six Ukrainians, two Venezuelan pilots for KamAir and a citizen of Kazakhstan and a citizen of Germany were also killed.


The hotel was being guarded by a private company which had won a contract to look after security at the site three weeks ago, according to the Afghan government.
The guards had reportedly offered little resistance, said an official.





SKY        News.