A Taliban truck bomb blasted through a hotel for foreigners early Monday, triggering a seven-hour gun-and-bomb assault. Police say the assault is now over and three insurgents were killed.  The guests and staff of Northgate hotel were unharmed, but one policeman was killed.

The blast was so powerful that it rattled windows several kilometres away. Power was briefly cut off in several areas. The Taliban has been ramping up their annual summer offensive, after a brief lull during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.