Two employees of the Russian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, were killed Monday, September 5, in a bomb attack near the diplomatic representation, announced the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“At 10:50 a.m. local time [8 h 20 à Paris], in the immediate vicinity of the Russian Embassy in Kabul, an unidentified fighter set off an explosive device. Two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed in the attack”explained the Russian diplomacy in a press release, also mentioning “wounded among Afghan nationals”.
The Russian Embassy “is in close contact with the Afghan security services, which have launched an investigation”the ministry added. “We are talking about a terrorist attack. This is unacceptable “quickly condemned the spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, during a telephone press briefing.
Ten injured
“It was a suicide attack, but before the terrorist could reach his target, he was neutralized by our teams”, for its part, declared the Afghan interior ministry. According to the same source, the individual was targeting the Russian embassy.
The explosion took place when a Russian diplomat came out of a diplomatic representation building to announce the names of people who could apply for a visa, according to the same source.
Afghan police had earlier reported a suicide bombing near the entrance to the Russian Embassy, adding that the suicide bomber was shot by Taliban security guards after setting off explosives. The explosion also injured 11 people, police said.
Russia, which does not recognize the new Afghan regime, is one of the few countries to have maintained diplomatic representation in Kabul after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.