TEHRAN, September 5. /TASS/. Afghanistan’s former President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the terror attack near the Russian embassy in the Afghan capital city, the office of the ex-president said on Monday after his telephone call with Russian presidential special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov.
"During the conversation, the former president strongly condemned the terror attack near the Russian embassy in Kabul. He expressed grief over the death of two Russian diplomats as a result of this attack and conveyed condolences to the Russian government, people and the families of those killed," it said.
Apart from that, Karzai stressed the importance of continuing to develop bilateral relations between Kabul and Moscow. "He spoke strongly in favor of strengthening and developing good relations between the two countries," it added.
According to earlier reports, an unidentified person activated an explosive device near the entry to the Russian embassy’s consular department in Kabul at 10:50 local time. Two employees of the Russian diplomatic mission were killed. The Russian foreign ministry said that the embassy is in close contact with Afghanistan’s special services.
According to the Al Jazeera television channel, at least eight people were killed and at least 15 were hurt in the terror attack. Meanwhile, Al-Arabiya TV said that the attack was committed by a suicide bomber who approached the gate to the Russian embassy to be shot dead by the Taliban. According to Afghanistan’s Hasht-e Subh daily, there were a lot of people, mostly students, near the Russian embassy who sought to obtain Russian visas.