6 including 2 Russian Embassy staff killed in blast in Kabul

2 Russian embassy staff in Kabul were among six people killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near the embassy on Monday, Reuters reported quoting the Russian Foreign Ministry and Afghan official. Ten others were injured in the blast in the Afghanistan capital.

Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti said that the blast occurred when a Russian diplomat came out to people waiting outside to call out the names of the candidates for a visa.

"The suicide attacker before reaching the target, was recognised and shot by Russian embassy (Taliban) guards ... there is no information about casualties yet," Mawlawi Sabir, the head of the police district where the attack took place, told Reuters.

A suicide bomber blew himself up when a #Russian diplomat came out to name visa applicants.#Kabul #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/oNqQvi4iFR

— Abdulhaq Omeri (@AbdulhaqOmeri) September 5, 2022

Russia Today reported that 2 Russian diplomats were among many people killed.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that an unknown militant set off an explosive device near the entrance to the consular section of the embassy around at 10:50 am Kabul time, reported Reuters.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the explosion “a terrorist act, absolutely unacceptable”, reported AP. He told reporters during his daily press conference call that “now the main thing that needs to be done is to get information from the ground about what happened to our diplomatic representatives.”

The Russian mission is one of only a couple of international missions still operating and performing consular services in Kabul. Most nations closed their embassies when the Taliban captured Kabul in August 2021 as the US and NATO withdrew their troops, reported AP.