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The self-styled Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack near the Russian embassy in Afghanistan on Monday, which killed two Russian diplomats and at least four other people. This is the first attack against a foreign delegation since the Taliban seized power in Kabul a little over a year ago.
Through the Telegram channel of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), the terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul on Monday, in which the second secretary and a security guard of the Russian diplomatic delegation in Afghanistan and the least four other civilians, according to Khalid Zadran, a spokesman for the Kabul police.
According to information from the Reuters press agency, at least ten more people were injured in the attack.
The blast occurred at the entrance to the embassy’s consular section, where some Afghans were applying for their visas, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
According to the Russian state news agency, RIA Novosti, a diplomat from the embassy would have warned about the man who intended to immolate himself to those who were on the site. After the alert call, security agents shot the suicide bomber.
It is unclear whether the IS member triggered the explosion before he was shot or whether the shells detonated the cargo he was carrying in his vest.
The latent conflict between the Islamic State and the Taliban group
Russia was one of the few countries that kept its embassy in Kabul open after August 15, 2021, when the Taliban returned to power and took the Afghan capital. Some other countries like Pakistan or Iran still maintain diplomatic missions in the country.
IS often attacks mosques belonging to minority groups, especially Shiites, and Taliban settlements in order to seize power.
However, Monday’s attack was the first to target an embassy in Kabul since the Taliban regime ousted the Western-backed government since 2001.
Although Moscow regards the Taliban as a terrorist group, its members have representation in Russia and a delegation attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June.
Russia condemned the events
The government of Vladimir Putin categorically condemned the terrorist attack in Kabul and called on the Taliban forces to take “drastic” measures to bring those responsible for the crime to justice.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the explosion “a terrorist act, absolutely unacceptable.”
“This is an attack. We strongly condemn this type of terrorist act. And now the most important thing is to obtain information from the scene, about what happened to our representatives, our diplomats,” Peskov noted.
Earlier in June, President Putin said his country is trying to build relations with the Taliban and wants all ethnic groups in Afghanistan to participate in the government.
The Taliban promise to improve the security of diplomatic missions
After hearing the news, the Taliban assured that they are carrying out an “exhaustive” investigation into what happened and that they will improve security measures at the embassy so that “it does not happen again.”
“We maintain close relations with the Russian Federation and we will not allow such actions by the enemies to have a negative impact on those relations,” said the spokesman for Afghan diplomacy, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, in addition to expressing his “condolences to the Russian government, to the people and the families of the victims”.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the attack, which occurred in the Darul Aman area, southwest of the Afghan capital. His spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, was in charge of making the announcement in a statement:
“The Secretary-General reiterates that attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including diplomatic missions, are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law.”
In the document, the secretary general also conveyed “his condolences to the families of the deceased” and wished “a speedy recovery to the injured.”
With Reuters, EFE and AP
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