UN Security Council condemns deadly Kabul restaurant explosion

The UN Security Council on Wednesday strongly condemned a deadly attack on a restaurant in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, that killed seven people, including a Chinese national, and injured several others.

In a statement, Council members denounced what they described as a “heinous terrorist attack” that took place on Monday, January 19 at a restaurant in the commercial Shahr-e-Naw district.

The attack was claimed by ISIL-K (Daesh) and resulted in the deaths of six Afghan citizens and one Chinese national, while a number of others, including a child, were wounded.

The Council expressed its deepest sympathy to the people and governments of Afghanistan and China, offering condolences to the families of the victims and wishing a swift and full recovery to those injured.

Reaffirming its long-held position, the Security Council said terrorism in all its forms remains one of the most serious threats to peace and security in Afghanistan and globally. It stressed the need to hold those responsible for terrorist acts — including perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors — accountable and bring them to justice.

The statement urged all countries to cooperate with relevant authorities in line with international law and existing UN Security Council resolutions to combat terrorism.

Council members also reiterated that all acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of motivation or circumstance, and underscored the importance of addressing threats to international peace and security in accordance with the UN Charter, international law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law.

Afghan authorities said the blast occurred at a Chinese restaurant in Kabul. Police spokesman Khalid Zahran said the explosion happened at around 3 p.m. local time and that investigations into the cause of the blast were ongoing.