Two employees of the Russian embassy in Kabul were killed in an explosion, which was staged by a militant at the gates of the diplomatic mission.
This was stated in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
“On September 5, at 10:50 am Kabul time, in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the consular department of the Russian Embassy in Kabul, an unknown militant set off an explosive device.
As a result of the attack, two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed, and there are also victims among Afghan citizens, ”the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It is noted that the embassy is in close contact with the Afghan security services, which are investigating the incident.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke about the terrorist attack in Kabul at the beginning of a meeting with his counterpart from Tajikistan Sirojiddin Mukhriddin, which took place on September 5.
“This morning, just three hours ago, there was a terrorist act.
An unknown militant set off an explosive device in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the consular section of our embassy.
Two of our comrades died,” Lavrov said.
He noted that the protection of the outer perimeter of the embassy was immediately strengthened, additional forces of the Taliban* authorities were involved, and Afghan intelligence and counterintelligence services were also involved.
"Let's hope that the organizers of this terrorist act and its perpetrators will be punished as soon as possible," Lavrov said.
Later, he honored the memory of the dead employees of the diplomatic mission with a minute of silence.
Sergei Lavrov honored the memory of Russian embassy employees killed in the terrorist attack in Kabul with a minute of silence
In turn, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin strongly condemns the incident near the Russian embassy in Kabul and classifies it as a terrorist attack.
“Certainly, we are talking about a terrorist act, absolutely unacceptable.
On the whole, we strongly condemn such a terrorist act, and, of course, now the main thing that needs to be done is to get information from the field about what happened to our diplomatic representatives,” Peskov said.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, instructed the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee to open a criminal case into the death of employees of the Russian embassy in Kabul.
Bastrykin ordered to investigate the incident and identify all the persons involved in the crime.
“According to preliminary data, the second secretary and the guard of the embassy were killed as a result of the attack,” the ministry said in a statement.
In turn, the Afghan Foreign Ministry also condemned the terrorist attack near the Russian embassy and expressed condolences in connection with the incident.
The ministry said in a statement that Afghan law enforcement agencies launched a comprehensive investigation into the attack.
The statement also mentions the preparation of serious measures to ensure the security of the Russian embassy.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry called relations with Russia close, noting that Kabul would not allow disrupting the interaction between the two countries.
According to media reports, as a result of the incident, a total of six to ten people could have died.
Recall that in December 2020 in Kabul, the car of the Russian diplomatic mission was blown up by an improvised explosive device.
As the Russian Foreign Ministry said at the time, the explosion occurred near the complex of the Russian embassy in Kabul.
As a result of the explosion, the employees of the diplomatic mission who were in the vehicle received a slight concussion.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the target of the attack could be a pickup truck of the Afghan military moving in front of the diplomatic car.
At the same time, the Foreign Ministry said, the attack could have been directed against Russian citizens.
* The organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.