BLAST OUTSIDE RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN KABUL KILLS EIGHT

Mon 05 September 2022:

A suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the entrance to the Russian embassy in Kabul, killing at least eight people, security sources have told Al Jazeera.

The fatalities include two embassy personnel, according to the Russian foreign ministry, as reported by the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency on Monday.

The ministry did not offer any details as to who the staff members were or how they died.

🇦🇫 Eight killed in blast outside Russian embassy in Kabul

Locals said a large number of people were present at the spot when the bomb exploded at around 10.50 am (0620 GMT) on Monday morning.#KABULBLAST #Russia #russianembassy pic.twitter.com/SLbT9bLr0U

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) September 5, 2022

Earlier, RIA Novosti, citing anonymous sources, said 15-20 people were killed or wounded due to the explosion which occurred when a Russian diplomat came out to people waiting outside to call out the names of the candidates for a visa.

“It (blast) actually happened close to the embassy where there was a crowd of people gathered to apply for the Russian visa,” Kabul-based journalist Najib Lalzoy told Al Jazeera.

Locals said a large number of people were present at the spot when the bomb exploded.

According to police, the attacker was shot dead by armed guards as he approached the embassy gate in the Darul Aman neighborhood of Kabul’s southwest.

“The suicide attacker, before reaching the target, was recognised and shot by Russian embassy (Taliban) guards,” Mawlawi Sabir, the head of the police district where the attack took place, told the Reuters news agency.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion, the latest to strike the country days after it marked a year of Taliban seizing power.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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