KABUL: A suicide bomber blew himself up near the entrance of a restaurant in the Afghan capital Kabul and gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on Friday night, killing at least 21 persons mostly foreigners.
Muhammad Ayoub Salangi, Afghan Deputy Interior Minister, said that an attacker detonated his explosives outside the gate of the heavily fortified restaurant in the capital’s central Wazir Akbar Khan district, which hosts many embassies and restaurants catering for expatriates. Meanwhile, two gunmen stormed the restaurant and opened indiscriminate fire.
Resultantly, at least 21 persons including four women and mostly foreigners were killed in the attack, while according to Afghan police, the foreign victims were mainly Germans.
Those who were killed included four United Nations staff members and a 60-year-old Wabel Abdallah, who had been leading the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) office in Kabul since 2008.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the La Taverna du Liban restaurant owned by Lebanese national Kamal Hamade, who also lost his life in the offensive.