Two Russian diplomats killed and 4 hurt in IS suicide attack at Kabul embassy

By Our Special Correspondent

Two Russian diplomats were killed in a suicide bombing outside the country's embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, Moscow said.

"On September 5, at 10.50 a.m. Kabul time, an unidentified militant detonated an explosive device near the entrance to the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Kabul," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The suicide bomber wanted to blow himself up in the crowd, but security forces targeted him before he could do so, causing an explosion," Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran tweeted. "Security forces have cordoned off the area and have started an investigation into the blast."

Russia is one of the few countries to have an embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021. Although Russia recognizes the Taliban as a terrorist group, the two have diplomatic relations.

Last week, a Taliban delegation led by the commerce ministry visited Moscow to finalize deals for wheat, gas and oil supplies, ANI reported. The suicide bombing is one of several attacks in Afghanistan this year.

On September 2, an explosion at a mosque in Herat killed pro-Taliban scholar Mujeeb-ul Rehman Ansari and 17 civilians. 21 Kabul residents killed in blast at mosque.

Afghan cleric Rahimullah Haqqani, who supported the Taliban, was killed in a suicide attack in Kabul on August 11. Haqqani is a critic of the jihadist militant group Islamic State, a regional affiliate of the Islamic State that operates in Khorasan Province, Afghanistan and opposes the Taliban regime.

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