Survivors of the devastating Taliban suicide attack on a restaurant in Kabul have told of the carnage and bloodshed as details emerge of the 21 people, including 13 foreigners, who died in the assault.
Desperate customers hid under tables when one attacker detonated his suicide vest at the fortified entrance to the Taverna du Liban and two other militants stormed inside and opened fire.
Among the dead were three Americans, two British citizens, two Canadians, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) head of mission, and the restaurant's Lebanese owner, who was killed as he tried to fire back at the attackers.
A female Danish member of the European police mission in Afghanistan and a Russian UN political officer also died in the Friday evening massacre, which was the deadliest attack on foreign civilians since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon paid tribute on Saturday to the four UN staff killed in the attack - a US citizen of Somali origin, a Pakistani, a Lebanese and a Russian - vowing the UN would maintain its work in Afghanistan despite the attack.
"As the United Nations mourns this terrorist attack and its victims, we remain committed to work for the peace, stability and development of Afghanistan," the secretary general said.
"We heard a big bang and everywhere was dark," Atiqullah, 27, an assistant chef, told AFP by telephone as he attended a funeral for three of the restaurant's guards.
"We used a back door to go to the second floor. Our manager went downstairs. We heard some gunshots and later found out that he had been shot dead.
"There was blood everywhere, on tables, on chairs. Apparently, the attackers had shot people from a very close range."
Interior Minister Omer Daudzai said three police officers responsible for security in the upmarket Wazir Akbar Khan district had been suspended pending an investigation.
The Taverna has been a regular dining spot for foreign diplomats, aid-workers and Afghan officials and businessmen for several years, and was busy with customers on Friday, the weekly holiday in Afghanistan.
Like many restaurants in Kabul, it ran strict security checks, with diners patted down by armed guards and passing through at least two steel doors before gaining entry.
On Saturday morning, the Taverna's battered sign was still in place, hanging over the ruined remains of the entrance door. Several badly damaged cars remained at the scene.
Among the dead were a Briton and Malaysian working as consultants to the Afghan finance ministry.
The American University of Afghanistan said one US victim had recently joined its faculty of political science, and the other was a member of the student affairs staff.
The US State Department later confirmed that a total of three Americans were killed in the attack.
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