Photo: AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi
A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near the entrance to the Russian Federation embassy in Kabul. Two embassy staff members were killed, and dozens of Afghan civilians who were waiting in line for visas were also killed.
Armed guards outside the Russian embassy in Kabul spotted the suicide bomber, shot and killed him before he could reach his target, said the head of the police district where the embassy is located, Mawlavi Sabir. However, the suicide bomber managed to detonate the explosive near the very entrance to the embassy. The explosion occurred just as a Russian diplomat came out to read a list of people waiting in line for visas, causing a large number of casualties and injuries among Afghan civilians.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that two embassy staff members, Secretary Shah Mahmoud and a security guard, were killed. The Russian embassy issued a statement saying it is in close contact with Afghan services investigating the circumstances of the attack, and Taliban authorities have blocked off the part of the city where the embassy is located, while security forces are confiscating cameras and phones from people who were there.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, but since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan last August, most such attacks, which are almost always carried out by suicide bombers, have been organized by the Islamic State. The Islamic State accuses the Taliban of treason because they made peace with the Americans that allowed them to take over the entire country.
Russia is one of several countries that have kept an embassy in Kabul since the Taliban took over. Although Moscow does not officially recognize the Taliban government, economic cooperation is being negotiated with it. Cooperation in the field of security is no less important, as Moscow fears that there could be an "export" of Islamic extremism from Afghanistan to its territory, via the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, which border both Russia and Afghanistan.
MT/Reuters/Al Jazeera/Sputnik/RT
Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews at www.vreme.com
The police cordon does not allow the chorus of citizens of Novi Sad to pass. The intervention unit of the police directs them to the "gathering place"
Members of the Unit for the Security of Certain Persons and Facilities (JZO) come into the public eye with the strengthening of protests by citizens and students. Where the progressive beaters are, there they are. Their commander Marko Kricak, in his previous life a car sales clerk, is a man trusted by Bata Gašić
The second week of civil disobedience is underway in Serbia. Follow all today's events in our live blog
At the protest near Autokomanda, citizens repeatedly shouted "Take off the phantoms", demanding the police to reveal the identity of the officers present. One policeman responded to that request - he introduced himself by name, took off his mask and entered into a dialogue with the crowd
After losing in the semi-finals of Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic sent a message regarding the current situation in Serbia
If we are neutral while students are being imprisoned, girls and boys are being beaten for God's justice, democracy is being suppressed, dissenters are being dehumanized, corruption is continuing that kills and many other evil things are being done - then nothing
Serbia is not ready for fires, storms and floods, but President Aleksandar Vučić is ready to turn everything into propaganda
A policeman and a policewoman were filmed pulling a student's hair in an attempt to extort her. It is a classic example of torture, a gross violation of the law for which they would have to bear the consequences
The archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
