ISIS group in Afghanistan claims responsibility for attack on Chinese-run restaurant in Kabul

KABUL - Militant group Islamic State (ISIS) claimed an explosion that officials said killed a Chinese national and six Afghans, while injuring several more as it tore through a Chinese-run restaurant in a heavily guarded part of Afghanistan’s capital.

The blast took place in the commercial Shahr-e-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 Afghan branch of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that it was carried out by a suicide bomber.

The Chinese restaurant was jointly run by a Chinese Muslim man, Abdul Majid, his wife, and an Afghan partner, Abdul Jabbar Mahmood, and served the Chinese Muslim community, Mr Zadran said.

“The nature of the explosion is unknown so far and is being investigated,” he said.

A Chinese national, identified only as Ayub, and six Afghans were killed in the blast near the restaurant’s kitchen, while several others were injured, he added.

The Amaq news agency said the local arm of Islamic State had put Chinese citizens on its list of targets, citing "growing crimes by the Chinese government against Uighurs."

Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uighurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority group of about 10 million people who live in China's far western Xinjiang region. Beijing denies any abuse and has accused Western countries of interference and peddling lies.

China requests investigation, protection

The blast injured five Chinese nationals, and China has requested that Afghanistan spare no effort to treat the injured, Mr Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said at a press briefing on Jan 20.

China also requested that Afghanistan take effective measures to protect the safety of its citizens and investments, and investigate, Mr Guo said.

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,” Mr Dejan Panic, humanitarian group EMERGENCY’s 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.

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. REUTERS