Kabul firefight #3 (6/22/12)

NATO UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters fly near the Spozhmai Hotel in Qargha lake in the outskirts of Kabul on June 22, 2012. Taliban militants armed with guns and rockets attacked a lakeside hotel near Kabul overnight, seizing dozens of hostages including women and children and killing four people.

Smoke rises from a hotel as a NATO helicopter flies over the site of an attack outside Kabul June 22, 2012. Gunmen took scores of hostages at a popular lakeside hotel on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, police said on Friday, during a deadly attack lasting several hours that underscored the Taliban's potency despite more than a decade of war.

Military helicopters belonging to NATO forces fly over the Spozhmai Hotel on Lake Qurgha ,where security officials say Taliban insurgents killed nearly two dozen people, most of them civilians, in an attack just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down.

A soldier from NATO-led forces, center, is seen outside the Spozhmai hotel on Lake Qargha where security officials say Taliban insurgents have killed almost two dozen people, most of them civilians, in an attack that began before midnight on Thursday, just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down.

Norwegian soldiers, part of the NATO-led forces, leave the Spozhmai hotel on Lake Qurgha where security officials say Taliban insurgents have killed nearly two dozen people, most of them civilians, in an attack just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down.

Soldiers from NATO-led forces are seen through the remains of a burnt vehicle outside the Spozhmai hotel on Lake Qargha where security officials say Taliban insurgents have killed almost two dozen people, most of them civilians, in an attack that began before midnight on Thursday, just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down.

Afghan special forces are seen outside the Spozhmai hotel at Lake Qargha where security officials say Taliban insurgents have killed at least 17 people, most of them civilians, in an attack that began before midnight on Thursday, just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down.

NATO soldiers leave the site of an attack at a hotel on the outskirts of Kabul June 22, 2012. Thirteen people were killed before a long siege was ended at Spozhmai hotel outside the Afghan capital, during which Taliban gunmen took scores of hostages, another bold attack that showed a potent insurgency remains after more than a decade of war.

Afghan special forces are seen outside the Spozhmai hotel at Lake Qargha where security officials say Taliban insurgents have killed at least 17 people, most of them civilians, in an attack that began before midnight on Thursday, just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down.

Spent weapons are seen on the ground outside of the Spozhmai Hotel, on Lake Qurgha, where security officials say Taliban insurgents killed nearly two dozen people, most of them civilians, in an attack just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down.

An Afghan special forces soldier stands guard at the Spozhmai hotel on Lake Qurgha where security officials say Taliban insurgents killed nearly two dozen people, most of them civilians, in an attack just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down.

Afghan special forces soldiers display an AK-47 weapon and ammunition magazines used by militants during an attack on the Spozhmai hotel on Lake Qurgha where security officials say Taliban insurgents killed nearly two dozen people, most of them civilians, in an attack just north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June, 22, 2012. It was the latest in a string of attacks this week that suggest the insurgent group is pushing hard with its summer offensive rather than waiting for international forces to draw down.

A member of the Afghan security force stands at the site of a Taliban attack on the outskirts of Kabul June 22, 2012. Thirteen people were killed before a long siege was ended at Spozhmai hotel outside the Afghan capital, during which Taliban gunmen took scores of hostages, another bold attack that showed a potent insurgency remains after more than a decade of war.

Afghan security forces celebrate their victory after a Taliban attack on the outskirts of Kabul June 22, 2012. Thirteen people were killed before a long siege was ended at Spozhmai hotel outside the Afghan capital, during which Taliban gunmen took scores of hostages, another bold attack that showed a potent insurgency remains after more than a decade of war.