Explosion in a restaurant in Afghan capital kills at least 7 and injures a dozen more

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An explosion at a restaurant in downtown Kabul on Monday killed at least seven people and wounded about a dozen more, according to police and an Italian charity running a surgical unit in the city. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear.

The explosion occurred in a Chinese restaurant in the Shahr-e-Naw district of the Afghan capital, according to Kabul police command spokesman Khalid Zadran. He said the restaurant was jointly owned by an Afghan man, a Chinese national and his wife.

The restaurant was popular with Chinese Muslims, Zadran said, adding that one Chinese national and six Afghans were killed and several others were wounded. The blast occurred near the restaurant’s kitchen, the police spokesman said, and the cause was under investigation.

The Italian charity EMERGENCY said its surgical center in Kabul, which is located near the site of the explosion, had received 20 people from the blast, including seven who were already dead. It noted the number of casualties was still provisional.

Those injured included four women and a child, the organization’s country director in Afghanistan, Dejan Panic, said.

“The wounded, some of whom are being assessed for surgery, have suffered lacerations and bruises,” he added.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the blast had caused both deaths and injuries but did not have any details on the numbers.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said two Chinese people were seriously injured and a security guard killed in the blast.

Footage aired by local television station Tolo News and filmed through a car windscreen showed people running and walking in the street with smoke and dust billowing behind them.