The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing near the Russian embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday that killed two staff from the diplomatic mission and four others.
In the first attack targeting a foreign mission since the Taliban seized power in August last year, the bomber struck near the entrance of the embassy’s consular section.
An IS fighter “blew up his suicide vest in a gathering attended by Russian employees” near the embassy, the jihadist group said in a statement via Telegram channels.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to journalists in Moscow, slammed the attack as “absolutely unacceptable.”
Afghanistan’s foreign ministry confirmed the deaths of two embassy staff.
Four Afghans waiting for consular services were also killed and several more wounded, Kabul police said.
Men who were wounded after a suicide bomber detonated explosives near the entrance of the Russian embassy, are treated inside a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 5, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara
Violence in Afghanistan has largely declined since the Taliban returned to power, but several bomb blasts — some targeting minority communities — have rocked the country in recent months, many claimed by the jihadist Islamic State group.
As with other recent attacks, heavy Taliban security quickly sealed off the area and prevented media from filming nearby.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said immediate steps were taken to boost security at the embassy, located on one of Kabul’s main roads and leading to the parliament building.
