Terror at the Kabul Serena Hotel - eyewitness account

By the Afghan-American colleague of a State Department employee, passed on to Lisa Schiffren of The Corner at NRO.

After fleeing the tea house at the Serena for the relative safety of the basement where dozens of people hid for hours...

... all of a sudden two U.S. Marines come down to the basement armed to the teeth, asking everyone if they are all right. We were kind of relieved to see the Marines.

The Marines then called out for all US Citizens and they took me, and about 10 other people out including my cousin whom I told the marine was with me. The said fine, but lets move.

We started moving with the Marines out the basement guns drawn coming upstairs through the same hall I ran down.

There was a pool a blood where I was standing before when everything began and now there was blood everywhere in the lobby, broken glass, black walls from the bomb blasts. Hundreds of Afghan Secret Service and NDS guards were standing around.

The U.S. Marines got us out and put us in armored vehicles and took us to the embassy where they treated us, took reports and gave us medical checkups.

"We were kind of relieved to see the Marines." Well. Quite an understatement, that.

Still, a gripping read.

And OORAH, Marines!