Islamic State on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a Chinese restaurant in Afghanistan that killed more than six people.
Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior, told The New York Times the attack was carried out by one individual linked to ISIS-Khorasan, commonly known as ISIS-K, one of the terrorist group’s most deadly branches.
ISIS-K has claimed it is targeting Chinese civilians in retaliation for Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs, a Muslim minority group, and has also denounced the Afghan government’s relationship with China, according to the Times.
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Workers clear the scene as Taliban police secure the area after an explosion at a Chinese restaurant, right, killed at least seven people, including a Chinese national, a day earlier in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Siddiqullah Alizai/AP)
Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said on X that seven people were killed in the explosion, including six Afghans and one Chinese national. Several others were injured.
Zadran said the blast occurred around 3 p.m. local time at a Chinese noodle restaurant in Kabul’s Shahr-e-Naw district, which was jointly run by Abdul Majeed, a Chinese Muslim from Xinjiang province, his wife and an Afghan named Abdul Jabbar Mahmoud.
“The explosion took place near the kitchen. The nature of the explosion is still unknown, the investigation is still ongoing,” he added.
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The interior of a Chinese restaurant is seen a day after an explosion on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed at least seven people, including a Chinese national. (Siddiqullah Alizai/AP)
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters A news conference on Tuesday said one Chinese national was killed and five others injured in the attack.
Jiakun expressed his condolences to the families and said officials from the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan visited the wounded in hospital. He said China has urged the Afghan government to do more to keep Chinese nationals and institutions safe.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun answers a question from a journalist at a press conference in Beijing, China, January 7, 2025. (Florence Lo/Reuters)
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“China firmly condemns and opposes all forms of terrorism and supports Afghanistan and countries in the region in jointly combating all forms of terrorist and violent activities,” he said.
“Given the current security situation in Afghanistan, the ministry once again advises Chinese nationals not to travel to Afghanistan in the near future and asks Chinese nationals and companies already in Afghanistan to take extra precautions, increase security and leave high-risk regions as soon as possible.”
