Blast kills seven at Chinese-run restaurant in Afghan capital
By Mohammad Yunus Yawar
KABUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Militant group Islamic State claimed an explosion that officials said killed a Chinese national and six Afghans, while injuring several more as it tore through a Chinese-run restaurant in a heavily guarded part of Afghanistan's capital.
Monday's blast took place in the commercial Shahr-e-Naw area that is home to offices, shopping complexes and embassies, police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said. It is considered one of the safest neighbourhoods in the city.
The Afghan branch of Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility, saying in a statement it was carried out by a suicide bomber.
The restaurant serving the Chinese Muslim community was jointly run by a Chinese Muslim man, Abdul Majid, his wife, and an Afghan partner, Abdul Jabbar Mahmood, Zadran said.
"The nature of the explosion is unknown so far and is being investigated," he said.
A Chinese national, identified only as Ayub, and six Afghans were killed in the blast near the restaurant's kitchen, while several others were injured, Zadran added.
The Amaq news agency said the domestic arm of Islamic State had put Chinese citizens on its list of targets, citing "growing crimes by the Chinese government against Uyghurs".
Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority group numbering about 10 million who live in China's far western region of Xinjiang.
Beijing denies any abuse and has accused Western countries of interference and peddling lies.
CHINA REQUESTS INVESTIGATION, PROTECTION OF NATIONALS
The blast injured five Chinese nationals, and China has requested that Afghanistan spare no effort to treat the injured, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
China also requested that Afghanistan take effective measures to protect the safety of its citizens and investments, and investigate, Guo said.
On Monday, videos shared on social media showed smoke billowing from a large hole torn in the facade of the restaurant building, while debris littered the street outside.
"We have received 20 people at our hospital," Dejan Panic, the Afghanistan director of humanitarian group EMERGENCY, said in a statement, adding that seven were dead on arrival. "Among the wounded are four women and a child."
The Taliban took control of war-torn Afghanistan in 2021 and said it would restore security, but bomb attacks have continued, many of them claimed by the local arm of the Islamic State group.
(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul and Menna Alaa El-Din and Jaidaa Taha in Cairo; Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Writing by Sakshi Dayal, Saad Sayeed and Asif Shahzad; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Deepa Babington and Clarence Fernandez)
