An explosion that shook a Chinese restaurant in the heart of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Monday, killed at least seven people, according to police and emergency services. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE website.
The website, which specializes in monitoring news of armed groups, quoted a statement issued by the organization, saying that its branch in Afghanistan considers Chinese citizens a prime target, especially because of what it described as “crimes committed by the Chinese government” against Uighur Muslims.
In a previous statement, Khalid Zadran, a spokesman for the Kabul police, stated that “a Chinese Muslim named Ayoub and 6 Afghans were killed, while others were injured” as a result of this explosion.
An Agence France-Presse correspondent witnessed a heavy presence of police and ambulance vehicles at the site of the explosion, which occurred on a busy street with shops and flower vendors in the Shahr-e-Naw area.
Zadran explained that the explosion occurred “near the kitchen” of a restaurant specializing in serving noodles, which is mostly frequented by Chinese Muslims, confirming the opening of an investigation to uncover the details of the incident, after he had previously stated that it occurred “in a hotel.”
In a related context, the Italian non-governmental organization EMERGENCY, which runs a hospital in the Afghan capital, announced that it had received seven bodies and 13 injured, who were admitted for surgery, noting that among the injured were “4 women and a child,” according to the organization’s director, Dejan Panic.
This incident comes at a time when the Afghan authorities are striving to enhance security in the country and attract foreign investors, in light of the decline in the volume of international aid. Since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021, Afghanistan has been witnessing an influx of Chinese businessmen.
It is noteworthy that ISIS claimed responsibility in 2022 for an attack targeting a hotel in Kabul frequented by Chinese tourists. China, which shares a 76-kilometer border with Afghanistan, enjoys strong relations with the Taliban government.
