UN, IMF staff among attack victims
Print Edition
A TALIBAN suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a restaurant popular with foreigners in the Afghan capital, killing up to 21 people including three United Nations staffers and the IMF’s top representative in Afghanistan.
Gunmen burst into the restaurant spraying diners with bullets after the bomber blew himself up near the entrance around 7:30pm on Friday evening.
Thirteen foreigners were among those killed, according to police.
Yesterday, the US embassy said in a post on Twitter that at least two US private citizens were killed. Britain and Canada confirmed they had each lost two nationals, and Denmark said one of its citizens also died.
After the initial blast, sporadic bursts of gunfire were heard over the next hour. The two gunmen inside the Lebanese restaurant, located in Kabul’s diplomatic enclave, were shot dead by police, an Afghan official said.
Most foreign forces are preparing to leave Afghanistan this year after more than a decade of war, and there are fears that the Taliban will intensify attacks in the run up to an election in April to find a successor to President Hamid Karzai.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack, calling it revenge for a US airstrike earlier this week that had also drawn condemnation from Karzai as eight civilians were killed.
Several kitchen staff survived by fleeing to the roof.
“When I was in the kitchen, I heard an explosion outside. Then all the guys escaped up and I went to the roof and stayed with my back to the chimney for two or three hours,” said Suleiman, a cook at the Lebanese restaurant.
By midnight, a clearance operation was still under way, with police flashing lasers at passing cars and people.
The restaurant had been running for several years, and was a favorite haunt for foreigners, including diplomats, contractors, journalists and aid workers.
Armed guards were usually on duty at the front entrance, which led to a courtyard in front of the main ground floor dining room.
The suicide bomb attack took place at the front entrance, but accounts differed over where the gunmen had entered from.
“The target of the attack was a restaurant frequented by high ranking foreigners... where the invaders used to dine with booze and liquor in the plenty,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an e-mailed statement, written in English.
Karzai issued a statement yesterday condemning the attack, using the opportunity to swipe at the United States for not doing enough to fight “terrorism.”
Direct peace talks
“If NATO forces led by the United States of America want to be united and partner with the Afghan people, they have to target terrorism,” he said.
Karzai is upset with Washington, believing it could do more to persuade the Taliban to begin direct peace talks.
The International Monetary Fund’s representative in Afghanistan, 60-year-old Lebanese national Wabel Abdallah, was among the dead. He had led the fund’s Kabul office since 2008.
“This is tragic news, and we... are all devastated,” Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.
“Our hearts go out to Wabel’s family and friends, as well as the other victims of this attack.”
The UN initially said four staff were killed, but had counted the IMF’s representative in the total. The three were a Russian, an American and a Pakistani.
The Russian was the senior UN political officer in trying to negotiate a start to peace talks with the Taliban.
“You can imagine the effect it has had on staff members here,” a UN spokesman said.
A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said two Britons were killed in the attack. Del Singh, a British Labour Party candidate for the European Parliament was one of British victims, the other was serving with the EU Police Mission in Afghanistan. A Dane with the mission also died.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said two Canadians were killed. It was unclear who they worked for.
Taliban fighters mounted several attacks in Kabul during the summer months last year, but the assault on Friday inflicted far higher casualties.
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