An explosion tore through a Chinese-run restaurant in a hotel in a heavily guarded part of Afghanistan’s capital on Monday, killing a Chinese national and six Afghans and injuring several others, including a child, officials said.
The restaurant was in the commercial Shahr-i-Naw neighbourhood of Kabul that includes office buildings, shopping complexes and embassies, police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said.
The district is considered one of the safest in the city.
The Chinese noodle restaurant was jointly run by a Chinese Muslim, Abdul Majid, his wife, and an Afghan partner, Abdul Jabbar Mahmood, and served the Chinese Muslim community, Zadran said.
One Chinese national, identified as Ayub, and six Afghans were killed in the blast, which occurred near the kitchen, while several others were injured, Zadran added.
Videos shared on social media showed debris scattered on the street outside and smoke spewing from a large hole torn into the front of the restaurant building.
“So far, we have received 20 people at our hospital,” Dejan Panic, humanitarian group EMERGENCYs Country Director in Afghanistan, said in a statement.
“Among the wounded are four women and a child … Unfortunately, seven people were already dead on arrival.”
There was no immediate word on the cause of the explosion. Authorities said they were investigating.
In a statement, President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the bombing and expressed grief over the loss of lives.
“The president conveyed sincere sympathy with the injured and their families and prayed for their early recovery,” the statement read.
“He paid tribute to the spirit of Chinese citizens who have continued to work for the development of Afghanistan despite rising insecurity and serious risks to their lives.”
According to the statement, the president noted the Afghan Taliban regime’s failure to honour commitments made under the Doha Agreement, particularly the obligation to prevent the use of Afghan soil for acts of terrorism.
“He recalled that Pakistan has repeatedly stressed that no terrorist groups should be allowed safe havens in Afghanistan and that regional peace and security must be upheld,” the statement said.
The statement noted that other countries neighbouring Afghanistan, including Tajikistan, were recently affected by terrorists operating from Afghan soil.
“The president further stated that the failure to establish a broad-based and inclusive government by the Taliban is contrary to the Doha Agreement,” the statement added.
“He emphasised that full implementation of the agreement, in letter and spirit, along with concrete steps to end cross-border terrorism, remains essential.”
The Taliban took control of war-torn Afghanistan in 2021 and said it would restore security, but bomb attacks have continued, many of them claimed by the local arm of the militant Islamic State group.
