White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, US, September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files

 

WASHINGTON: The United States urged Pakistan to expel Taliban leaders following the deadly attack on a luxury hotel in Afghanistan's capital city that left five dead and six others injured, the White House said in a statement Monday night.

The leaders of the terrorist outfit need to be banned from operating on Pakistani soil, it said in a statement disclosed by press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

At least five people were killed and six injured after gunmen attacked Kabul?s Intercontinental Hotel Saturday night, seizing hostages and exchanging gunfire with security forces as the building in the Afghan capital caught fire and residents and staff fled.

The Afghan Interior Ministry said Sunday morning the operation to rescue the hostages has completed, with 126 hostages ? of which 41 were foreigners ? rescued.

Najib Danish ? the ministry's spokesperson ? said all five attackers were killed in the operation.

On Sunday, Pakistan's foreign office had rejected ?knee-jerk allegations? by some Afghan circles of the Kabul attack.

In a tweet, Dr. Mohammad Faisal ? the spokesperson for the Foreign Office ? stated that there was a need for a credible investigation into the attack, including one on the security lapses.

In a press statement issued earlier, the foreign office had strongly condemned the brutal attack, saying, ?We express deep grief and sorrow at the loss of precious human lives and the injuring of many others in this terrorist act.?

The statement further read that cooperation among the states is important for effectively combating and eliminating the scourge of terrorism.