China asks Taliban to protect its citizens after one killed in Kabul blast

China has urged Afghanistan to “spare no effort” in protecting its citizens after one was killed in an explosion in the capital Kabul on Monday.

The blast, which also killed at least six Afghans and injured nearly a dozen people, tore through a Chinese restaurant in the city centre, officials said.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the terror group Islamic State Khorasan Province.

“China strongly condemns and resolutely opposes terrorism in all forms and supports Afghanistan and countries in the region in jointly combating all forms of terrorist violent acts,” foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a daily briefing in Beijing.

The spokesperson confirmed that a Chinese national was killed and five injured.

Mr Guo urged Afghan authorities to find and punish the perpetrators, and “take effective measures to protect the safety of Chinese nationals projects”.

Beijing advised its citizens not to travel to Afghanistan in the near term. It also asked Chinese nationals and companies already in the country to strengthen their security measures and evacuate from high-risk areas.

Afghan government spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the explosion occurred near the kitchen of a restaurant located in Shahr-e-Naw and jointly owned by an Afghan man, a Chinese citizen and his wife.

Shahr-e-Naw, a popular gathering spot in Kabul, is no stranger to attacks by the Islamic State. An attack in December 2022 targeted a hotel popular with Chinese businessmen visiting Afghanistan.

While the Afghan government was yet to confirm the death toll from the latest attack, staff at an NGO called Emergency said they saw the dead and wounded being received at their hospital.

At least 20 people were brought to the hospital and seven were declared dead on arrival, Dejan Panic, the NGO’s Afghanistan director, said. Four women and a child were among the wounded, he added.

Eyewitnesses said the blast left a large hole in the side of the building and destroyed a car parked outside.

Taking responsibility for the attack, Islamic State Khorasan Province claimed it was motivated by China’s “increasing crimes against the oppressed Uyghur Muslims".

The regional affiliate of the Islamic State is inimical 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-ravaged nation since most major Western countries withdrew following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.