{"id":33693,"date":"2026-01-20T04:48:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T02:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=33693"},"modified":"2026-01-27T07:07:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:07:02","slug":"at-least-seven-killed-and-several-injured-in-bomb-blast-at-chinese-restaurant-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/at-least-seven-killed-and-several-injured-in-bomb-blast-at-chinese-restaurant-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"At least seven killed and several injured in bomb blast at Chinese restaurant in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>4 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>An explosion tore through a hotel area in the Shahr-e-Naw district of central Kabul on January 19, 2026, killing at least seven people and injuring several others, including a Chinese citizen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The blast occurred in the Shahr-e-Naw neighborhood, a commercial and diplomatic area that includes office buildings, shopping centers, restaurants, and foreign-related facilities. The district is widely regarded as one of the most secure areas of the Afghan capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the explosion took place \u201cin a hotel\u201d in Shahr-e-Naw, without providing details on the cause or nature of the blast. Authorities said an investigation is underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An Italian humanitarian organization, EMERGENCY, said its Surgical Centre in Kabul received 20 injured people following the explosion, seven of whom were already dead when they arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTwenty people have been received at EMERGENCY\u2019s Surgical Centre in Kabul following an explosion this afternoon in the Shahr-e-Naw area,\u201d the organization said in a statement. \u201cAmong those received were seven people dead on arrival,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dejan Panic, EMERGENCY\u2019s Country Director in Afghanistan, said the wounded included four women and one child. \u201cThe wounded, several of whom are undergoing evaluation for surgical intervention, have sustained lacerations and contusions,\u201d Panic said. \u201cRegrettably, seven individuals were deceased upon arrival.\u201d The organization noted that the casualty figures were still provisional.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Explosion rocks downtown Kabul, causing casualties <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UxyiLhUO2U\">https:\/\/t.co\/UxyiLhUO2U<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rRMqyykqPe\">pic.twitter.com\/rRMqyykqPe<\/a><\/p>\u2014 CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CGTNOfficial\/status\/2013247620907753644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 19, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesperson for Afghanistan\u2019s Ministry of Interior, confirmed that the explosion resulted in casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAccording to preliminary reports, a number of people were killed and injured,\u201d Qani said, adding that further details would be released once investigations progressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kabul police later confirmed the incident in a statement posted on X but did not specify whether the blast was caused by an explosive device, gas, or another source. No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion, and there was no immediate indication of whether the incident was an attack or an accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>ISIS Claims Responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Afghan branch of ISIS (ISIL) later claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that it was carried out by a suicide bomber. The attack marks the latest in a series of operations claimed by the group in Kabul, underscoring the persistence of urban insecurity despite Taliban pledges to stabilize the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Security analysts note that ISIL has sought to exploit symbolic and foreign-linked targets both to undermine the Taliban\u2019s claims of control and to attract global attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ISIL\u2019s Amaq news agency said the group had put Chinese citizens on its list of targets, citing \u201cgrowing crimes by the Chinese government against Uighurs.\u201d The threat aligns with ISIL\u2019s sustained propaganda efforts that frame China as a hostile state actor in Muslim-majority regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The attack highlights the complex geopolitical dimension of recent attacks in Kabul, where foreign nationals and businesses increasingly find themselves entangled in Afghanistan\u2019s volatile security landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This photo shows the extent of the damage and the explosion at the restaurant in Kabul, Afghanistan. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HWoYoDF2gm\">https:\/\/t.co\/HWoYoDF2gm<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gdmYybQPeD\">pic.twitter.com\/gdmYybQPeD<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Iftikhar Firdous (@IftikharFirdous) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IftikharFirdous\/status\/2013296554577363009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 19, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><br><strong>Scene of the Explosion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Videos shared by Afghan media outlets, including Tolo News, showed debris scattered across the street, damaged vehicles, and smoke rising from a large hole torn into the front of the building where the explosion occurred. The footage suggested significant structural damage to the property and the surrounding area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Residents reported hearing a loud blast followed by chaos as emergency services and security forces rushed to the scene. Security forces cordoned off the area shortly after the explosion to allow rescue operations and investigations to proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Volatile Situation in Afghanistan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of United States and NATO forces, pledging to restore nationwide security. While large-scale violence has decreased since then, bombings and targeted attacks have continued to occur, particularly in urban areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the previous attacks in Kabul have been claimed by the local affiliate of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIL or ISIS, which remains active despite Taliban security operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shahr-e-Naw has previously been targeted in high-profile incidents due to its concentration of foreign-linked facilities and businesses, though such attacks have become less frequent in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Afghan-Taliban-stands-guard.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Afghan-Taliban-stands-guard.jpg?resize=750%2C500&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"An Afghan Taliban guard stands near the Torkham border of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan\" class=\"wp-image-26547\" style=\"width:840px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Afghan-Taliban-stands-guard.jpg?w=750&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Afghan-Taliban-stands-guard.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Afghan-Taliban-stands-guard.jpg?resize=589%2C392&amp;ssl=1 589w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em><sup>An Afghan Taliban guard stands near the Torkham border of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan. (Image Credit: AP\/Shafiullah Kakar)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Separately, Chinese state media reported that one Afghan security guard was killed and two Chinese nationals were injured following an explosion at a restaurant in Kabul on Monday. Afghan authorities did not immediately clarify whether this incident was linked to the blast in Shahr-e-Naw or occurred at a different location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officials said investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the explosion, confirm the final casualty figures, and establish whether the incident was deliberate. Authorities have urged the public to remain calm as security and emergency teams continue their work at the site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An explosion tore through a hotel area in the Shahr-e-Naw district of central Kabul on January 19, 2026, killing at least seven people and injuring several others, including a Chinese citizen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[124,1],"tags":[9,137,45,434,14,113,10,11],"class_list":["post-33693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-news","tag-afghanistan","tag-asia","tag-china","tag-isil","tag-isis","tag-security","tag-taliban","tag-terrorism"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Kabul-Afghanistan-Hotel-Blast.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-8Lr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33693"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33709,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33693\/revisions\/33709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}