TERRORIST wielding guns and wearing bomb vests have stormed a hotel as horrified guests leapt from burning rooms.
Pictures and videos show the eight storey building on fire with gunfire heard in the background at the hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Other footage appears to show guests leaping from the windows to escape the rampaging gunmen.
The hotel is reportedly popular with Chinese nationals.
The motive for the attack remains unclear – but recent terrorist actions in the city have been claimed by ISIS-K.
ISIS-K are a splinter cell of the notorious terror cult who are currently battling Afghanistan's ruling Taliban.
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Taliban officials confirmed they are expecting casualties in the terror attack – the latest in a string to hit Kabul.
Security forces battled the attackers with video from the scene clearly featuring gunfire and explosions.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the attack took place near a Chinese guesthouse and that its embassy in Kabul was closely monitoring the situation.
The embassy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
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Several bombing and shooting attacks have taken place in Afghanistan in recent months, some of which have been claimed by ISIS-K.
The terror group was responsible for the horrific bombing at Kabul Airport last year which killed more than 180 people.
The terrorist group is estimated to be up 10,000 in number and originally formed in 2015.
Brutal suicide bombings and vile ceremonial executions have become their trademark.
The "K" refers to the historical region of Greater Khorasan, which covers Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and others.
They are led by terrorist warlord Shahab al-Muhajir, a former al-Qaeda fighter, who took power in April 2020 after their previous boss, Abdullah Orokzai, was captured by Afghan forces.
Al-Muhajir is said to be known as "The Urban Lion" due to his skills with guerrilla warfare and planning suicide bomb attacks in cities.
He is believed to have helped the ISIS affiliate gain a foothold thanks to his background which will attract local jihadists, including those in the Taliban.
Propaganda churned out by the group shows them posing with the traditional black and white flag of ISIS which became synonymous with the most repulsive violence when the group held power in Syria and Iraq.
And taking inspiration from the comrades, ISIS-K have also produced some similarly gruesome and slick execution videos.
Footage which has emerged has shown them beheading victims, and in one video they are even claimed to have used two children to kill prisoners in orange jumpsuits.
Other images show them training wearing the familiar garb of ISIS fighters as they wield AK-47s.
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According the UN, around 70 ISIS fighters travelled from Iraq and Syria to form the group in Afghanistan – with their numbers being padded out by terrorists from Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
The group are still believed to be in contact with the main ISIS group, which was soundly defeated by the West, Russia and their allies in a campaign to oust them from Iraq and Syria.
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