New Year’s Day bombing in Afghan capital kills 1, wounds 11

Le Jardin restaurant, where the attack occurred, is popular among the city’s expatriate community and aid workers, besides Afghan officials. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

An Afghan policeman stands at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Jan. 1, 2016.

The bombing evokes painful memories of an attack in January 2014 on a Lebanese restaurant in Kabul that left 21 people dead.

Claiming to have killed and injured many, the Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid took to social media to promote the organization’s activities.

All of the casualties are Afghan civilians and one of the attackers was captured.

The restaurant has several heavy metal doors and security checks. Pakistan hosted a milestone first round of talks in July but the negotiations stalled when the insurgents belatedly confirmed the death of longtime leader Mullah Omar.

“Those who are targeting innocent civilians have no place in peace talks with the Afghan people and government”, he said.

Also, on December 11, at least four Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen stormed a guesthouse belonging to the Spanish embassy in Kabul, killing eight, including two Spanish nationals and wounding seven others.

The worsening situation in Helmand prompted Britain to deploy a small unit of military personnel in the province in an advisory role last month.

A Taliban suicide vehicle bomber hit a French restaurant popular with foreigners in Kabul today.

The deployment, in addition to a recent arrival of USA special forces in the region, comes a year after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces formally ended their combat operations in the country.

A spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry said police arrested one suspect after the bombing, according to the Washington Post.