The dead included two embassy employees, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday, adding that an “unknown militant” detonated an explosive device near the entrance to the embassy’s consular section at 10:50 a.m. (06:20 GMT). “As a result of the attack, two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed, while there are also casualties among Afghan citizens,” the ministry said. He did not give details about who the staff members were or how they died. The other four killed were Afghan civilians, said Khalid Zadran, a Kabul police spokesman. Police said the attacker was shot by armed guards as he approached the embassy gate in the Darul Aman district in southwest Kabul. “The gunman, before reaching the target, was identified and shot by the Russian embassy [Taliban] guards,” Mawlawi Sabir, head of the police district where the attack took place, told Reuters news agency. It was not immediately clear whether the gunman was able to set off the explosion before he was shot, or whether the gunfire set off the explosives. Security sources in Afghanistan say a suicide attack near the Russian embassy in Kabul has killed at least 8 people ⤵️ Read more: pic.twitter.com/0fYeW2GYZC — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 5, 2022
ISIL claims responsibility
The ISIL (ISIS) group claimed responsibility for the attack late Monday. An Islamic State fighter “detonated his suicide vest at a gathering attended by Russian officials” near the embassy, the group said in a statement via Telegram channels. It was the latest in a series of bombings, many claimed by Islamic State, that have largely targeted Taliban positions or mosques of minority groups, particularly Shiite Muslims. Monday’s bombing, however, appeared to be the first to target a foreign diplomatic mission in Kabul since the Taliban took over in August 2021. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to reporters in Moscow, condemned the attack as “absolutely unacceptable”. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the death of two embassy employees. “The [blast] it actually happened near the embassy where a crowd of people gathered to apply for the Russian visa,” Kabul-based journalist Najib Lalzoy told Al Jazeera.
The UN condemns the attack
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly” condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the victims and their families in a statement. The UN mission in Afghanistan also condemned the bombing. “UNAMA emphasizes the need for the de facto authorities to take measures to ensure the safety and security of people as well as diplomatic missions,” it said on Twitter. Men injured in the bombing are being treated at a hospital in Kabul [Ali Khara/Reuters] Violence in Afghanistan has largely declined since the Taliban returned to power, but several bomb blasts attributed to an offshoot of ISIL have rocked the country in recent months. The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan said that the Taliban forces will take serious measures to secure the embassies operating in the country. “[The government] has a close relationship with Russia. we will never allow such negative actions of enemies to have a negative impact on the relationship,” Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a statement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the embassy had beefed up its security after the attack and additional Taliban authorities, including intelligence agents, had been brought in. “Let’s hope that the organizers of this terrorist act and its perpetrators will be punished,” Lavrov said. Russia is one of the few countries to maintain an embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took over the country more than a year ago. Although Moscow does not officially recognize the Taliban government, it is in talks with officials about an agreement to supply gasoline and other goods. Journalist Lalzoi said the “unexpected” suicide attack targeted civilians. “It is very unexpected because the security officials of Kabul believe that the security around Kabul is very tight. And places like embassies are well protected,” he told Al Jazeera. “Secondly, the explosion happened where the Afghans were gathered. It seems the aim was just to kill innocent people.”
