KABUL: At least 40 people were killed in the attack on Kabul's luxury Intercontinental Hotel at the weekend, official figures showed Thursday -- almost double the earlier toll released by Afghan authorities.

"The final death toll (among Afghans) from Intercontinental Hotel attack stands at 25," health ministry spokesman Wahid Majrooh told AFP.

"We don't know about the foreign fatalities," he said, adding 12 Afghans had been wounded.

With 15 foreigners already confirmed dead in the attack that began late Saturday, that takes the total death toll to 40.
Afghan officials had previously said 22 people were killed in the massacre, the majority of them foreigners.

Investigators are still looking into how the militants were able to get through several layers of security at the hotel, which sits on a hilltop overlooking the Afghan capital.

Visitors to the upmarket hotel have described glaring security breaches before the assailants went on a bloody rampage targeting guests, with bags not checked and scanners not working. —AFP