Explosion kills seven people at hotel restaurant in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul

Explosion kills seven people at hotel restaurant in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul
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A blast has torn through a Chinese-run restaurant in a hotel in a heavily guarded part of Afghanistan’s capital, killing a Chinese national and six Afghans and injuring several ⁠others including a child, Al Jazeera reported.

The restaurant hit by the blast on Monday is in the commercial Shahr-e-Naw neighbourhood of Kabul that includes office buildings, shopping complexes and embassies, police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said. The district is considered one of the safest in the city.

The Chinese noodle restaurant was jointly run by a ⁠Chinese Muslim, Abdul Majid, his wife, and an Afghan partner, Abdul Jabbar Mahmood, and served the Chinese Muslim community, Zadran said.

Videos shared on social media showed debris scattered on the street outside and smoke spewing from a large hole torn into the front of the restaurant building.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and there was no immediate word on the cause of ⁠the explosion. Authorities said they were investigating.

Blasts in Kabul and across Afghanistan have been rarer since the Taliban returned to power after the United States withdrawal in 2021, but ISIL (ISIS) affiliates are still active in the country and carry out sporadic attacks.