Two employees of the Russian embassy in Kabul in Afghanistan were killed Monday in a bomb attack near the diplomatic representation, announced the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“At 10:50 a.m. local time (6:20 GMT), in the immediate vicinity of the Russian Embassy in Kabul, an unidentified fighter set off an explosive device. Two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed in the attack,” Russian diplomacy said in a statement, also reporting “wounded among Afghan nationals.”
The Russian embassy “is in close contact with the Afghan security services, which have started an investigation,” added the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“We are talking about a terrorist attack. It is unacceptable”, quickly condemned the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, during a telephone press briefing.
“It was a suicide attack, but before the terrorist could reach his target, he was neutralized by our teams,” the Afghan interior ministry told AFP.
According to the same source, the individual was targeting the Russian Embassy.
Earlier in the day, the Russian news agency Ria-Novosti, citing an anonymous source, said that “between 15 and 20 people were killed or injured by the explosion”.
The explosion took place when a Russian diplomat came out of a building of the diplomatic representation to announce the names of people who could apply for a visa, according to the same source.