Afghanistan attack: AFP reporter among 9 dead in Kabul hotel --- (CNN) -- A staff reporter for the Agence France-Presse news agency, his wife and two of his three children were among nine civilians killed in an attack on a hotel in the Afghan capital, the news agency said Friday. -- The incident began when four teenagers entered the Serena Hotel in central Kabul on Thursday and started shooting randomly, according to police. -- AFP said journalist Sardar Ahmad started working for the news agency in 2003 and went on to become its senior reporter in Kabul, "covering all aspects of life, war and politics in his native country" and specializing in security issues. He also founded the Kabul Pressistan private news agency, AFP said. -- The hotel was hosting special celebrations at the time of the attack to mark the eve of the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, AFP said. Nowruz is a major holiday in Afghanistan. -- Gen. Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, the deputy interior minister, said Thursday that those killed included Afghans and foreigners, children and adults. Six people were also injured. -- Afghan security forces killed the four gunmen, who police said were under 18 and were "government opponents." -- Police said they believe the gunmen entered the hotel by smuggling small pistols in their shoes and then hid in the bathroom for several hours before launching their attack. -- The hotel also was the site of a shooting, in January 2008, that killed seven people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack. -- Thursday's attack was the latest to claim the lives of foreigners in the Afghan capital. This month, gunmen shot and killed a Swedish journalist. In January, a bomb and gun attack by the Taliban on a restaurant in Kabul killed 21 people, most of them foreigners. - More, Laura Smith-Spark and Saad Abedine, CNN, at: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/21/world/asia/afghanistan-violence/index.html