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Suicide attack on Kabul restaurant frequented by foreigners Suicide bombers attack Kabul restaurant frequented by foreigners
(about 1 hour later)
A suicide attack has targeted a restaurant popular with foreign diplomats and wealthy Afghans in the heart of Kabul, just as patrons were likely to be starting a weekend dinner, a senior police officer says. Three Taliban suicide bombers have attacked a Lebanese restaurant in Kabul popular with foreigners and wealthy Afghans, killing at least thirteen people in the heart of the capital's heavily fortified diplomatic quarter.
An explosion ripped through Kabul's heavily fortified Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood shortly after 7pm, followed by several minutes of steady gunfire. Sporadic shooting continued for at least an hour. A blast shook Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood shortly after 7pm, and was followed by several minutes of steady gunfire.
"It was a suicide attack on the Lebanese restaurant on street 14," the head of Kabul's criminal investigation department, Sayed Gulagha Hashami told the Guardian. "It was a suicide attack on the Lebanese restaurant on street 14," the head of Kabul's criminal investigation department, Sayed Gulagha Hashami told the Guardian. At least one of the attackers made it inside the restaurant, he added.
The area is home to restaurants, offices and guest houses used by foreigners and is close to the unofficial "green zone" where Nato and the US mission have their headquarters. Mohammad Zahir, the Kabul police chief, said at least thirteen people had died, with several others injured. There were Afghans and foreigners among the dead, he said, but declined to give further information.
Many top Afghan officials also live nearby, and the country's elite frequent expensive restaurants like the one targeted on Friday. Friday is the Afghan weekend, and the bombing was timed for the beginning of dinner, so several groups were likely sitting down to a meal.
Dinnertime on a Friday, which is the Afghan weekend, is a particularly popular time to go out, and often when restaurants are at their busiest. The target was Taverna, a low-key but well-loved venue. It had armed guards and an air-lock entry system of steel gates, but those precautions would have been little match for a heavily armed suicide squad.
An anxious man waiting outside said his father was missing and a friend had been taken to hospital with serious injuries.
"My father called home this afternoon and said 'you guys have your dinner without me, because I am going to a restaurant with my friends'. We heard on the news about the explosion, and came to the site, and I saw my father's friend being carried out by the police," said Ajmal, who said his father, Mohammad Ali, worked for a telecoms firm.
"His friend was seriously wounded in his leg. My father has disappeared and we are very worried."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they had targeted "foreign invaders" and that there were Germans among the dead.
The site of the attack is near many offices and guest houses used by foreigners and close to the unofficial "green zone" where Nato and the US mission have their headquarters. Many top Afghan officials also live nearby.
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