“We have official confirmation that there is a Spaniard among the dead,” the official said, declining to provide further details.

The man was a pilot for a Turkish airline who was injured in the attack and died shortly afterwards, according to unconfirmed reports in the El Mundo daily and the news wire Europa Press.

Kabul police chief Ayub Salangi said that 10 people, mostly hotel workers, were killed and three police officers were wounded in the raid against the hilltop Intercontinental Hotel.

The state-owned 1960s hotel, which is not part of the global InterContinental chain, was hosting delegates to an Afghan security conference and a large wedding party when the insurgents struck.