KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban said Tuesday that its suicide bombers would attack restaurants where Westerners eat in Kabul, a new threat that forced American and European workers to restrict outings in the Afghan capital.
The country’s intelligence chief linked Monday’s deadly attack on the Serena Hotel — a well-guarded, high-profile property in Kabul frequented by Westerners — to a Pakistani militant.
The death toll from the attack, which killed one American, rose Tuesday to eight. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault.
Authorities on Tuesday announced the arrest of four men in connection with the attacks. They included the sole assailant to survive the attack, said the Afghan intelligence service. Another arrested man was one of the plot’s suspected organizers, who allegedly provided explosives, suicide vests and other weapons to the three attackers.
“We will target all these restaurants in Kabul where foreigners are eating,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said by telephone. “We have jihadists in Kabul right now and soon we will carry out more attacks against military personnel and foreigners.”
Such threats are not uncommon from the Taliban, whose capacity to fulfill them on a large scale is questionable. But suicide attacks, mostly directed at foreign and Afghan security forces, have risen sharply in Kabul in the past two years, puncturing the sense of safety of residents who once thought the capital largely immune to such assaults.
Security companies that protect international workers in Afghanistan restricted Westerners’ movements Tuesday, placing restaurants and stores frequented by foreigners off-limits for some.
Kabul has about a half-dozen restaurants popular with Westerners. The establishments do not allow Afghans entry because they serve alcohol, which is illegal for Muslims in Afghanistan. The restaurants sit behind nondescript walls and do little advertising, relying on word-of-mouth to bring in customers.
To deal with the Taliban’s resurgence, the U.S. will bolster its troop deployment in Afghanistan by sending an additional 3,200 Marines, the Pentagon said Monday. That would boost the American military presence by 10 percent.
But the Pentagon warned Tuesday that NATO nations will be expected to fill the void when a contingent of about 3,200 U.S. Marines leaves Afghanistan at the end of this year.
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