KABUL An eerie quiet overtook Kabul following several heavy explosions and exchange of fire between Afghan Security Forces and the Taliban in the heart of the city on Monday morning.
The target was the Presidential Palace and ministerial buildings, military, UN and Nato offices in the immediate vicinity.

The militants were able to gain a foothold in the Ministry of Law and Justice where the first suicide bombing took place.

The Ariana Cinema Complex next door remained occupied and only four out of the 20 suspected militants had been killed till evening.

The attack came just when cabinet ministers were being sworn in and two days before a Joint Coordination and Monitoring meeting ahead of the London Conference. Security officials say that further attacks are feared as the city centre remained closed with occasional sounds of gunfire.

The mood was tense inside the basement of the Serena Hotel, where over 300 guests, hotel employees, and international NGO workers were rushed to, following the series of blasts outside the gated compound.

Initially there was a sense of panic among the guests, but calm prevailed after security officials briefed them on the events taking place merely 400 meters away.

The hotel was quickly surrounded by army and police personnel, making it a safe haven for those seeking refuge from uncertainty in the city.

All eyes were glued to images on the local TV channels and within a few moments the intricate corridors of the hotel basement were bustling with makeshift arrangements for the guests who were trapped inside for close to five hours.

An official of Serena Hotel's head office said it was her third trip inside the basement due to insecurity in the Afghani capital. “I told my family not to turn on the television, so they would not panic.”

Wenny Kusuma, country director of Unifem, was concerned about missing her flight to Malaysia where she was supposed to meet her sick mother. But with the centre of the city cordoned off, civilian movement is completely restricted.