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China urged Afghanistan ‘No effort spared’ to protect citizens after one killed in capital blast kabul on Monday.
The explosion tore through a Chinese restaurant in the city center, killing at least six Afghans and injuring nearly a dozen others, officials said.
The terrorist group Islamic State Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack.
“China Strongly condemn and resolutely oppose all forms of terrorism and support Afghanistan “We will work with regional countries to combat all forms of terrorist violence,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a daily briefing in Beijing.
The spokesman confirmed that one Chinese citizen was killed and five others were injured.
Mr Guo urged Afghan authorities to find and punish the perpetrators and “take effective measures to protect the safety of projects involving Chinese citizens”.
Beijing has advised its citizens not to travel to Afghanistan in the near future. It also asked Chinese citizens and businesses already in the country to tighten security measures and evacuate high-risk areas.
Afghan government spokesman Khalid Zadran said the explosion occurred near the kitchen of a restaurant in Shahnau province run by an Afghan man, a Chinese citizen and his wife.
Shahr-e-Naw is a popular gathering place in Kabul that is no stranger to attacks by the Islamic State. In December 2022, a hotel popular with Chinese businessmen visiting Afghanistan was attacked.
While the Afghan government has not yet confirmed the death toll from the latest attack, staff from an NGO called Emergency said they saw the dead and injured being treated in hospitals.
Dejan Panic, the NGO’s director in Afghanistan, said at least 20 people were taken to hospital, seven of whom were pronounced dead on arrival. He added that four women and a child were among the injured.
Witnesses said the explosion left a large hole in the side of the building and destroyed a car parked outside.
The Islamic State’s Khorasan province took responsibility for the attack, claiming it was motivated by China’s “increasing crimes against oppressed Uyghur Muslims.”
Islamic State’s regional affiliate is hostile to the ruling Taliban and opposes what it claims is China’s growing presence in Afghanistan.
China has been expanding its economic footprint in the war-torn country since most major Western countries withdrew in 2021 after the Taliban returned to power.