Norwegian victim in Kabul attack seriously hurt but stable

COPENHAGEN, Denmark –  A Norwegian man who was injured in the Taliban attack at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, in which 22 people died, was seriously injured but is in stable condition, a hospital said Thursday.

Jan Kaare Austrheim, a spokesman for the Haukeland university hospital in Bergen, confirmed that Arne Strand was in their care and was being examined. The 59-year-old was flown to Norway a day earlier.

A Norwegian medical development research institute has said Strand, its assistant manager, was at the hotel Saturday when the 13-hour siege took place in the Afghan capital.

The Chr. Michelsen Institute called Strand one of Norway’s foremost Afghanistan experts who had often visited the country in the past decade. He was in Kabul for “a routine trip for CMI.”

CMI, an independent development research institute, said Strand had been brought to safety immediately. Strand’s family declined comment.