Suicide Bomber Kills 2 Diplomats at Russian Embassy in Kabul
Afghan official says foreign-funded elements are trying to harm relations with key neighboring countries
(Islamabad) Two employees of the Russian diplomatic mission were killed in a suicide blast in the Afghan capital, Kabul, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday.
The ministry said in a statement that “an unknown militant set off an explosive device near the entrance to the consular office of the Russian Embassy in Kabul. As a result of the attack, two embassy employees were killed. There were casualties among Afghan citizens.
“The embassy is in close contact with the Afghan security services, which are investigating the incident.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Moscow later on Monday that “measures to tighten security around the Russian Embassy in Kabul were taken urgently after a terrorist attack outside the embassy building.”
Lavrov declared that “the organizers of the attack would be punished as soon as possible.”
According to Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran, “A suicide bomber who wanted to detonate an improvised explosive device near the entrance of the Russian Embassy was killed by security guards. He was targeted in the midst of a crowd. Security forces have cordoned off the area and we have launched an investigation into the incident.”
The Taliban have not yet officially announced the exact number of dead and wounded persons, but according to unconfirmed sources, at least 25 people were killed in the blast, while dozens were critically wounded.
The number of fatalities is expected to rise, Natiq Ahmadi, a Kabul-based health official. told The Media Line.
Mustafa Tareen, another senior intelligence official, told Media Line, “The suspect was trying to reach the consular section of the Russian Embassy, and he was encountered because of his suspicious activities. Believing that he was wearing a suicide vest, he was shot down by the guards at the gate, but the bomber blew himself up.”
Tareen further told The Media Line, “At the time of the explosion, a large number of Afghan citizens who had applied for Russian visas were present in the building. The explosion occurred when embassy staff came out to announce the visa list.”
Following the August 2021 takeover of the country by the Taliban, Russia has not yet formally recognized the Taliban government, but along with Pakistan, it is among the few countries that have an active embassy in Kabul. The embassy building is in the Darul Aman area southwest of Kabul. It is a high-security zone.
No armed group has yet claimed responsibility for the suicide blast.
Mohammed Suhail Shaheen, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s permanent representative to the UN and head of the emirate’s Doha-based Political Office, told The Media Line, “The overall security situation is satisfactory across the country.”
Shaheen claimed that “some elements being supported and funded by foreign intelligence agencies are resorting to such individual incidents, aimed at jeopardizing our relations with key neighboring countries and preventing foreign investors to invest in Afghanistan.” He added, “We know their wicked objectives and our government is taking some concrete steps to beef up the security of our people along with diplomatic missions in Kabul.”
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemned the blast and said in a tweet, “In light of recent events, UNAMA stresses the need for the de facto authorities to take steps to ensure the safety and security of the people as well as diplomatic missions.”
In light of recent events, UNAMA stresses the need for the de facto authorities to take steps to ensure the safety and security of the people as well as diplomatic missions.
— UNAMA News (@UNAMAnews) September 5, 2022
During the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, such horrific events were common in Afghanistan, but since the Taliban took over the country, there was a substantial reduction in suicide bombings. This is the first such incident under the Taliban regime in which a foreign embassy has been targeted.
A separate issue is the continued targeting of the country’s Shia community, which Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-KP), an affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group active in South Asia and Central Asia, has always claimed responsibility for. In addition, Islamic State has also targeted pro-Taliban Sunni clerics in several other incidents.
The Media Line spoke to various experts about the deteriorating law and order situation in Afghanistan.
Dr. Sammar Iqbal Babar, an expert on terrorism studies and assistant professor of International Relations at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, told The Media Line, “Kabul, though being considered a heavily guarded city, witnessed another devastating attack in recent weeks, which exposes Taliban’s ineffective security measures. Since the US pullout, it has ignited infighting among jihadist organizations, particularly IS-KP and Taliban, and getting deadly with each passing day,” he added.
Babar said, “The Taliban and Russia share concerns over IS-KP and consider it a rising threat. Given the Russian campaigns against Islamic State in Syria and the return of Russian-origin fighters in Afghanistan, IS-KP can be held responsible for today’s dastardly attack.”
Babar further told The Media Line, “An unstable Afghanistan, plunged into a spiral of violence, isn’t in the interests of any neighboring country, but rather requires collaborative efforts to bring stability and peace to avoid any further catastrophe.”
Andy Vermaut, a Brussels-based counter-extremism expert and the president of the World Council for Public Diplomacy and Community Dialogue, told The Media Line, “It is imperative that individuals working at embassies, as well as those waiting in line to get visas, be protected at all times, regardless of the country. The tragic loss of precious lives is a despicable incident.”
Vermaut said further, “It is regrettable that, one year after the United States pulled its soldiers out of Afghanistan, the country, which is now governed by the Taliban, continues to be the subject of a large number of assaults. This incident comes at a critical moment as Russia and Afghanistan are in the midst of talks on trade for wheat, gas, and oil from Moscow.”
He added, “Particularly disheartening to me is the way in which Afghanistan continually falls back into a vicious cycle of violence that does not seem capable of being broken. Nothing will be able to reverse the growing radicalization of several terrorist organizations if the Taliban are unable to get the humanitarian situation under control.
He noted that “in addition to the flood that has halted food production and deliveries in two of Pakistan’s most important provinces, Pakistan itself is presently dealing with political and economic issues.”
Kamal Alam, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, told The Media Line, “Afghanistan is spiraling into violence as the Taliban have no depth in leadership and governance.”
Alam claimed, “Whatsoever is happening in the country is they are reaping what they sowed, or in other words, now they taste their own medicine. It doesn’t matter who is behind the attacks, whether ISIS, al Qaida or new splinter groups, the country is slipping into lawlessness from Herat to Kabul to Khost.”
Alam further claimed that in areas where the Taliban do rule, there’s torture and injustice, thereby creating hatred and furthering an environment where anyone can cause violence. “They were good fighters but don’t know how to be a peacetime army,” he added.
Additionally, Alam asserted that “Pakistan can’t do too much to stabilize Afghanistan, as Pakistan itself is going through the worst economic and political instability in its history.”
Irina Tsukerman, a New York-based national security expert and human rights lawyer, told The Media Line, “The Taliban always attributed such attacks to the terrorist organization ISIS, which appears to be vying for power against the destabilized Taliban. The Taliban are unable to develop security protocols to manage the deteriorating situation inside the country.”
She noted that “the Taliban are also responsible for the release of IS-KP prisoners, among others, and were believed to have had some level of cooperation against them to pressure NATO forces to withdraw faster. Now their proliferation and attacks are a natural and predictable result of that poor policy. It was obvious that they would not simply accept the rule of a rival faction, but would, just as the Taliban once did, want to have an uncompromising and total control of the country.”
Tsukerman added, “More attacks can be expected, as the terrorist groups repeat the pattern that had successfully brought the Taliban to power. Whoever supported the Taliban initially against the corrupt Afghan government and NATO is likely already regretting that choice.
“Unfortunately, the only long-term, real way to deal with the fragile security situation in the country is to re-impose a permanent presence of international forces in the country; but with the consent of all stakeholders, including the Taliban, otherwise the spiral of violence will only continue.”
