ISIS-K claims suicide blast at Chinese restaurant in Kabul, Afghanistan

The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Monday for a suicide blast at a Chinese restaurant in Afghanistan that killed more than half a dozen people.

Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, told The New York Times the attack was carried out by one person linked to ISIS-Khorasan, commonly known as ISIS-K, one of the terrorist group’s most lethal branches.

ISIS-K has claimed it targets Chinese citizens as retaliation for Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group, and has also denounced the Afghan government’s relationship with China, according to the Times.

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Kabul police command spokesman Khalid Zadran said on X that seven people were killed in the explosion, including six Afghans and one Chinese national. Several others were injured.

Zadran said the blast occurred around 3 p.m. local time at a Chinese noodle restaurant in Kabul’s Shahr-e-Naw neighborhood that was jointly run by Abdul Majeed, a Chinese Muslim from Xinjiang province, his wife, and an Afghan named Abdul Jabbar Mahmoud.

“The explosion occurred near the kitchen. The nature of the explosion is still unknown, investigations are ongoing,” he added.

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China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that one Chinese national was killed and five others were wounded in the attack.

Jiakun offered condolences to the families and said officials from the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan have visited the wounded in the hospital. He said China urged the Afghan government to do more to keep Chinese nationals and institutions safe.

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“China strongly condemns and firmly opposes any form of terrorism, supports Afghanistan and regional countries in jointly fighting all forms of terrorist and violent activities,” he said.

“Given the current security situation in Afghanistan, the Ministry once again advises Chinese nationals not to travel to Afghanistan in the near future and asks Chinese nationals and companies already in Afghanistan to take extra precautions, step up security and depart high-risk regions as soon as possible.”