Historical eventJanuary 202018

2018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack

A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.

Everything on January 20Original source

In context

When
Saturday, January 20 20188 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2010s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2018-01-21.

Deaths reported: 24. Casualties: 43.

What came before

Background See also: War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Kabul was held by the NATO -supported Afghan government , though both the Taliban and Islamic State were able to launch destructive attacks on the capital in the preceding months, including a suicide bombing less than a month prior to the Inter-Continental raid.

What happened

Attack On 20 January 2018, around 21:00 local time [ 1 ] gunmen armed with light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades stormed the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, opening fire and taking hostages. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] It is believed the gunmen targeted foreigners. [ 4 ] Some hotel guests tried to escape the gunmen by tying bed sheets together and climbing down from the upper floors of the building, which was partially set on fire.

On 20 January 2018, a group of four or five gunmen attacked the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack left 40 people dead including 14 foreigners, while 14 others were injured.

January 20 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1990Red Army
  2. 1990Black January
  3. 1991Sudan
  4. 1992Air Inter Flight 148
  5. 2001President of the Philippines
  6. 20092008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis
  7. 2009Iceland
  8. 2009First inauguration of Barack Obama
  9. 2018Taliban
  10. 2018Syrian civil war
  11. 20182018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack

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Everything we record for 2018 →

Sources

Cite this page

“2018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/2018-inter-continental-hotel-kabul-attack-2018-january-20, accessed October 27, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did 2018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack happen?

January 20 2018 — 8 years ago, on a Saturday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

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