KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a bombing at a Chinese restaurant in Afghanistan’s capital that killed at least seven people, including a Chinese national, and wounded more than a dozen others.
The group said in a statement posted on its Aamaq news agency late Monday that a suicide bomber entered the restaurant frequented by Chinese nationals in Kabul and detonated an explosive vest.
China has advised its citizens not to travel to Afghanistan in the near term after the bombing, and asked Chinese people and companies already in the country to strengthen security measures and evacuate from high-risk areas.
“China strongly condemns and resolutely opposes terrorism in all forms and supports Afghanistan and countries in the region in jointly combating all forms of terrorist violent acts,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a daily briefing in Beijing.
He said that one Chinese national was killed and five others were wounded. He said that China is urging Afghan authorities “to make every effort to treat the injured, further take effective measures to protect the safety of Chinese nationals (and) projects,” and to find and punish the perpetrators.
The attack happened at a Chinese restaurant in the Shahr-e-Naw district in the city, according to police spokesperson Khalid Zadran, who said one Chinese national and six Afghans were killed in the blast. He said Monday that the restaurant was jointly owned by an Afghan man, a Chinese national and his wife.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Mufti Abdul Mateen Qani said Tuesday that the case was being investigated.
“I assure everyone that just as the criminals were arrested before and punished for their actions, these people will also be punished for their actions,” he said.
Seeking to reassure both Afghans and foreigners in the country, Qani said that no other “major incident” had occurred in the Afghan capital over the past year.
“I assure all citizens of the country, especially foreign citizens, political missions, and all major political and economic projects throughout the country that security throughout the country is ensured,” he said.
The IS claim, which was widely shared by supporters of the militants, included a further threat against Chinese nationals in Afghanistan, linking the attack to China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims.
While nearly all nations withdrew from Afghanistan following the Taliban offensive of 2021 that led to them seizing Kabul, China has maintained a major economic presence in the country. Beijing has yet to formally recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government.
Muhammad u Allah Nemati, who runs a shop opposite the restaurant and witnessed Monday's blast, said: “When the explosion happened, I fell from my seat. I saw many people dead and injured.”
The Italian charity EMERGENCY, which operates a surgical center located near the site, said it had received the casualties shortly after the blast.
Bashir Khalil, a doctor at the hospital, said Tuesday they had received 7 bodies and 14 wounded people, of which one was in critical condition.
Footage aired by Afghan broadcaster Tolo News showed people running along the street as smoke and dust billowed from the area.
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack in a statement issued by his office late Monday. He accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of failing to uphold a ceasefire brokered by Qatar to end cross-border fighting that erupted between Afghanistan and Pakistan in October, particularly commitments to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to carry out attacks.
Kabul has repeatedly said it does not allow its territory to be used by militant groups.
The Islamic State group 's affiliate in the region, which is a major Taliban rival, has conducted attacks on schools, hospitals, mosques and Shiite areas throughout the country before and after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.
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Samy Magdy contributed to this report from Cairo.
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