Two employees of the Russian embassy in Kabul in Afghanistan lost their lives on Monday, September 5, in a bomb attack near the diplomatic representation, announced the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The explosion also injured 11 people, police said.

"At 10:50 a.m. local time (0620 GMT), in the immediate vicinity of the Russian embassy in Kabul, an unidentified fighter set off an explosive device. Two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed in the attack" , said Russian diplomacy in a statement, also reporting "wounded among Afghan nationals".

The Russian embassy "is in close contact with the Afghan security services, which have started an investigation," added the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"We are talking about a terrorist attack. It is unacceptable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov quickly condemned during a telephone press briefing.

"It was a suicide attack, but before the terrorist could reach his target, he was neutralized by our teams," the Afghan interior ministry told AFP.

According to the same source, the individual was targeting the Russian embassy.

The explosion took place when a Russian diplomat came out of a diplomatic representation building to announce the names of people who could apply for a visa, according to the same source.

Russia, which does not recognize the new Afghan regime, is one of the few countries to have maintained diplomatic representation in Kabul after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.

With AFP and Reuters

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