At least six people are reported dead following a co-ordinated attack on Kabul, Afghanistan's top luxury hotel.

The Taliban is claiming responsibility for Monday's attack at the five-star Serena Hotel, which also left at least six people wounded. At least one American is believed to be among the dead, the State Department in Washington told The Associated Press.

The attack is believed to be the first on a Kabul hotel since the Taliban were pushed from power in 2001.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said four militants were involved in the attack.

Three used grenades and AK-47 rifles to create a distraction while a fourth entered the hotel compound to detonate his suicide vest.

They were targeting "senior foreign military officers," according to Mujahid, whose claims have not been independently verified.

There were reports of fighting between the attackers and the hotel's security guards. The assault occurred just after 6 p.m. local time.

A Western official who asked not to be identified said security forces killed one of the attackers.

The Norwegian embassy was holding a meeting at the hotel. Jonas Gahr Stoere, Norway's foreign minister, was there but wasn't injured. However, a Norwegian journalist and diplomatic staffer were hurt in the explosion, said Stian Solum, a photographer with the Norwegian agency Scanpix.

Police kept journalists and onlookers far from the scene.

However, an American in the hotel told the Associated Press that she saw a body and pools of blood in the lobby, along with bullet marks in the gym area.

Susan Griffin, who works with the aid agency Save the Children, said she was in the hotel's gym locker room when the attack started.

"Thank God I didn't get into the shower because then we heard gunfire, a lot of it. It was very close, close enough that plaster came off the ceiling," Griffin said. "We all just sat on the floor and got as far as we could from any glass and huddled on the floor. We turned our phones on silent."

The U.S. embassy told her to not open a door unless she heard an American voice. U.S. soldiers evacuated her.

Vanessa Valentino, an American working in the Afghan capital, said she heard a faint explosion, gunfire, another faint explosion and then a large blast.

"I think it shook the building," she said from a bank near the hotel. "We're just not leaving the building, and we can't figure out what's happened, so we decided to stay inside."

CTV's Murray Oliver told Newsnet from Kandahar that Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff, were on their way back to Canada after a weekend visit in Afghanistan when the attack occurred.

The 177-room, newly-built hotel is the finest in Afghanistan, Oliver said.

"It's a beautiful building, a beautiful facility, so obviously it attracts a lot of diplomats and high-end business people who are coming to make deals involved in Afghanistan's reconstruction."

The hotel was built by the Aga Khan, leader of the Ismaili Muslims, and follows Muslim practices. For example, it doesn't serve alcohol, Oliver said.

Since Westerners use the downtown hotel, which bills itself as "oasis of luxury in a war-ravaged city," their presence would make it a target, Oliver said.

The only similar incident is when a rocket exploded near Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel in 2003. While the blast shattered windows and some restaurant patrons fell from their chairs, no injuries were reported.

With files from The Associated Press