MOSCOW, January 18, /ITAR-TASS/. A Russian citizen was killed in the terrorist attack in Kabul on January 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.
The terrorist attack committed in Kabul late on Friday, January 17, killed more than 20 people, including foreigners. Among them were members of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Among the victims is Russian citizen Nazarov, a UNAMA member, Lukashevich said.
Russia strongly condemns the terrorist act and those who masterminded and committed the attack, the Russian diplomat stated.
What happened, regrettably, confirms the increasing scopes of terrorist threats in Afghanistan and requires further consolidation of efforts of the international community in the fight against the evil in Afghanistan and outside, he said.
"We express sincere condolences to relatives and friends of Nazarov and the families of all the victims of the cruel act, "Lukashevich said. "We wish soonest recovery for the injured people."
The Kabul police chief said the attack killed at least 21 people, including 13 foreigners.
The powerful explosion rolled near a popular Lebanese restaurant in a diplomatic neighborhood in the Afghan capital on Friday. It is a guarded district where wealthy Afghans reside and most of the embassies and some administrative buildings are located.
According to an Afghan security service source, first an attack was committed near a restaurant for foreigners, where a suicide attacker set off an explosive device attached to his body. Then, one or two terrorists burst into the restaurant. Responsibility for the terrorist attack is claimed by the Taliban, whose spokesman noted the explosion was aimed against foreigners.
The head of the International Monetary Fund's office in Afghanistan, Wabel Abdallah, 60, a Lebanese, was also killed in the attack.