“Gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed a guest house used by UN staff in the heart of the Afghan capital early Wednesday, killing 12 people — including six UN staff — officials said. The US Embassy said one of the UN dead was American. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the early morning attack, saying it was meant as an assault on the upcoming presidential election. Later, a rocket struck the ‘outer limit’ of the presidential palace but caused no casualties, presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada said,” reports The Independent.