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NYPD Maintains Heightened Security Following Hotel Attack In Afghanistan

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New York Police Department is stepping up counter-terrorism measures at hotels in the wake of a terrorist attack in Afghanistan.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said the move wasn't prompted by a specific threat in the city, but the nation's biggest police department is taking no chances as it learns more about the attack on Kabul's Inter-Continental Hotel, which is frequented by foreigners.

Afghan police said a Taliban attack at an international hotel in Kabul has ended with 19 people dead, eight attackers and 11 civilians.

The gunmen stormed into the hotel as high-level officials were gathering there for a meeting to discuss the transferring of the country's security to Afghan forces. The dead civilians include hotel employees and five Afghan policemen, but no high-level officials.

Read: CBS News coverage of terror attacks in Kabul

Two NATO helicopters later fired rockets that killed gunmen on the rooftop of the hotel.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes nearly a week after President Barack Obama announced he would end the American combat role in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

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(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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