Suicide bombing kills two employees and multiple visitors at Russian Embassy in Afghanistan

Two employees of the Russian Embassy in Kabul died in an explosion Monday morning, according to Russia’s Foreign Ministry. At 10:50 am local time, an unidentified suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near the entrance to the embassy’s consular department. A source from the ministry told Izvestia that one of the victims was a guard and the other was Russian diplomat Mikhail Shakh.

Afghan visitors to the embassy were also killed. According to Sputnik Afghanistan, most of the victims in that category were Afghan students who were waiting in line to receive or apply for visas. RIA Novosti reported that at least 10 people were killed and eight others were hospitalized. Sources who spoke to Al Jazeera reported at least eight deaths.

Kabul police reported that the perpetrator was shot before the bomb went off. According to Reuters and the Afghan outlet Tolo News, police representatives said that the suicide bomber planned to detonate the the bomb in the middle of a crowd outside of the embassy building, but security guards began shooting at him after guessing his intentions. According to police, the bomber was killed, but this didn’t prevent the bomb from going off. They estimated the number of victims at 11-12 people and the number of people injured at 10-11.

The Kremlin called the bombing a terrorist attack, though no motive or suspect has been named. No organization has claimed responsibility for the attack. As the Associated Press noted, however, since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan one year ago, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks throughout the country. The two groups have long had a hostile relationship as the Islamic State also wants control over Afghanistan.

Unlike Western countries, Russia did not close its embassy in Afghanistan after the Taliban retook control of the country in August 2021. The Taliban is officially banned as a terrorist organization in Russia, but the Russian authorities have led negotiations with the Taliban, accredited their representative in Moscow, and invited them to the 2022 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Kremlin has justified their relationship with the Taliban by calling the group “Afghanistan’s de facto leaders.”

Since the explosion, the Russian Embassy in Afghanistan has ramped up security, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He observed a moment of silence for the victims and expressed hope that “the organizers and perpetrators of this terrorist attack will receive the punishment they deserve in the near future.” Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a statement that the Taliban won’t allow “such negative actions from enemies have a negative impact on the two countries’ relations.”