ISIS-K Bomber Waited 30 Minutes Inside Kabul Restaurant Before Detonating; 7 Killed

“Amaq,” the media arm of the Islamic State (ISIS), published a photo of an armed individual captioned, “The executor of the martyrdom attack on the Chinese restaurant in the Shahr-e-Naw neighborhood of central Kabul.” According to the agency, the suicide bomber entered the establishment and waited for 30 minutes for a larger crowd of Chinese nationals to gather before detonating his explosive vest.

Official Casualty Count

Khalid Zadran, the spokesperson for the Kabul police under the Taliban government, confirmed hours after the blast that one Chinese citizen and six Afghans were killed. Zadran stated on his X (formerly Twitter) account that the explosion occurred around 3:00 PM local time on “Flower Street.” He noted that the blast originated near the restaurant’s kitchen, though the exact nature of the explosive device is still under investigation.

Target Details

Zadran clarified that the establishment, named “Chinese Noodle,” was jointly operated by a Chinese Muslim national, his wife, and an Afghan partner. It primarily served the Chinese Muslim community residing in Kabul. He emphasized that the Chinese victim was a Muslim.

Hospital Reports

Officials at the Emergency Hospital in Kabul told the BBC that 20 wounded individuals were transported to their facility following the explosion. Dejan Panic, a director at the hospital, stated: “Among the injured are four women and one child. The patients, some of whom are undergoing surgery, suffered cuts and bruises. Unfortunately, seven people were dead on arrival.”

Earlier, Abdul Matin Qane, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior, had confirmed the explosion, noting initially that several people were critically injured.