Deadl restaurant

At least 16 people, including foreigners, killed in suicide operation in heavily fortified district of Afghan capital.

An attack on a restaurant in Kabul apparently carried out by the Afghan Taliban has killed at least 16 people, including the International Monetary Fund's resident representative.
The assailants targeted Taverna du Liban, a Lebanese restaurant popular with expatriates and diplomats, in a neighbourhood of Kabul where many embassy buildings and offices of non-governmental organisations are located.


Christine Lagarde, the IMF chief, said Wabel Abdallah, 60, the fund's resident representative in Afghanistan since June 2008, was among those killed in Friday's attack in the Afghan capital.
Abdallah, a Lebanese national, joined the IMF from the Central Bank of Lebanon in 1993 and had held various IMF positions, especially in the Middle East.



Ari Gaitanis, a spokesman for the UN, said four UN employees who "reportedly could have been present in close proximity to the scene of the attack" were "unaccounted for".
UK's Foreign Office confirmed late on Friday that a British national was among the dead.
Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack, which he said targeted foreign officials dining at what he described as a "hotel".

"There was a suicide attack on a foreign hotel where special foreign invaders are coming for dinner," he said.
"In this attack an explosive was used which was very strong and heavy casualties and massive destruction happened."
He said the targets of the attack included "high-ranking German officials". German Foreign Ministry officials in Berlin said they could not confirm that German nationals were among the casualties.

Heavily fortified area
The assault happened around dinner time on Friday in the heavily fortified Wazir Akbar Khan district where many wealthy Afghans also live.



A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the front door.
As chaos ensued, two other attackers entered the restaurant through the kitchen and opened fire before being killed by security guards, local government sources said.
Gunfire continued for about 20 minutes after the initial explosion and the main road leading to the neighbourhood was cordoned off.

General Mohammad Zahir Zahir, Kabul police chief, said the 16 people killed were all inside the Taverna du Liban.
He said foreigners and Afghans were among the dead, but he did not provide a breakdown.
Ayoub Salangai, Afghanistan's deputy interior minister, said on Twitter that the dead included four women.

Four UN workers unaccounted for after Kabul suicide bombing

Officials said at least four other people were wounded.
The Taverna du Liban is one of three Lebanese restaurants in Kabul.
It has steel doors and customers have to pass through security to get in, as is the case with many restaurants in the city.

Al Jazeera's Jane Ferguson, reporting from Kabul, said the attack was a significant "breach of security" given the location.

"The scenes inside the restaurant is quite incredible," she said. "Anybody inside seems unlikely to have escaped from the gunmen."
The attack comes at a tough time for Afghanistan as most foreign forces prepare to leave the country this year after more than a decade of war and almost daily attacks.
Negotiations have stalled on a security accord that would allow some US and NATO troops to stay after 2014.

The bilateral security agreement (BSA) would see several thousand US troops remain in Afghanistan to provide training and assistance in the battle against the Taliban.

Security concerns have been also rising in advance of an April presidential election when Afghans will vote to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, an event likely to be targeted by the Taliban.
Friday's assault is the first one to target a civilian restaurant since the Lake Qargha attack by the Taliban in the summer of 2012.
A series of attacks in 2013 targeted foreign compounds, the Supreme Court, the airport and the presidential palace in Kabul.