KABUL (REUTERS) - Gunmen attacked a luxury hotel on Thursday in the centre of the Afghan capital Kabul, police said.

Security sources told Reuters that two or three gunmen entered the Serena hotel by a back door. Two people had been wounded, they said. There were no details on the nationality of the pair.

One person who was taken to safety along with other guests said that the shooting appeared to begin in the hotel restaurant.

Another guest, hiding in his room, said he could hear sporadic gunfire.

The hotel is considered the safest place to stay in Kabul and is home to many United Nations staff and foreign delegations who have arrived to monitor next month's presidetial election.

The hotel was attacked in 2008 by a suicide bomber, claiming six lives.