Afghanistan: French restaurant popular with expats target of Kabul attack

The bombing occurred at a French restaurant, Le Jardin, which is popular among expatriates.

The Kabul-based Italian Emergency Hospital reported at least 15 wounded people had been evacuated to the center.

Smoke and flames rise from Le Jardin restaurant after the attack by a Taliban suicide bomber in Kabul on Friday. A Taliban spokesman said the bomber targeted a restaurant belonging to foreigners.

Another 13 civilians were wounded in the attack, Kabul Police Chief Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi told reporters at the blast site.

The Afghan army launched a special operation in the country’s Helmand province and set free 59 people from a Taliban prison, sources said on Saturday.

The attacks have coincided with efforts to revive the stalled peace process with the Taliban that broke down in July.

“The children were crying”, said one resident, Daoud Bassia.

The area is close to a district containing many foreign embassies and government buildings.

Despite war season having ended in Afghanistan, the Taliban militant group have intensified their attacks against foreign and governmental locations. It’s one of the last restaurants in Kabul that foreigners frequent.

Le Jardin has tighter security than many other Kabul restaurants catering to expats, with multiple security doors and armed guards linked by handheld radio sets.

The explosion from the blast was so loud that it shattered a number of windows in the neighbourhood.

“My house shook to the foundation and I live three streets away”, journalist Ruchi Kumar told the BBC.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced on Thursday that the first round of Afghan peace process talks will be held in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad in January.