One UN security guard, an American from Miami named Louis Maxwell, climbed to the roof of the building to fire at the attackers.

[4][6][7] Nearly simultaneous with the guest house attack, rockets were fired at the Afghan Presidential Palace and the Serena Hotel, though there were no injuries in either incident.

[6] 'The Sentimental Terrorist' a novel of Afghanistan is partially based on this incident, with jihadists preparing to attack a Kabul guest house.

[9] The civilian was the brother-in-law of Provincial governor Gul Agha Sherzai, who had been watching the attack and was killed by a stray bullet.

[citation needed] An Afghan government intelligence official, Amrullah Saleh, stated that the attacks were planned and carried out by the Haqqani network with help from Al Qaeda in Pakistan.

[7] The report of the United Nations Board of Inquiry confirmed the political connotation of the attack and details the findings on whether UN staff members were killed by friendly fire.