An explosion tore through a Chinese-run restaurant in a hotel in a heavily guarded part of Afghanistan’s capital killing a Chinese national and six Afghans and injuring several others, including a child, officials said.
The restaurant was in the commercial Shahr-i-Naw neighbourhood of Kabul that includes office buildings, shopping complexes and embassies, police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said.
The district is considered one of the safest in the city.
The Chinese noodle restaurant was jointly run by a Chinese Muslim, Abdul Majid, his wife, and an Afghan partner, Abdul Jabbar Mahmood, and served the Chinese Muslim community, Zadran said.
One Chinese national, identified as Ayub, and six Afghans were killed in the blast, which occurred near the kitchen, while several others were injured, Zadran added.
Videos shared on social media showed debris scattered on the street outside and smoke spewing from a large hole torn into the front of the restaurant building.
“So far, we have received 20 people at our hospital,” Dejan Panic, humanitarian group EMERGENCYs Country Director in Afghanistan, said in a statement.
“Among the wounded are four women and a child … Unfortunately, seven people were already dead on arrival.”
There was no immediate word on the cause of the explosion. Authorities said they were investigating.
In a statement, President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the bombing and expressed grief over the loss of lives.
“The president conveyed sincere sympathy with the injured and their families and prayed for their early recovery,” the statement read.
