The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has confirmed that five Nepalis were among the injured in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul, the Afghan capital, on Wednesday in which 80 people were killed. As many as 350 people were reported wounded in the massive explosion.

“The Embassy of Nepal in Islamabad has informed that five Nepali nationals were injured in the incident,” MoFA said in a statement. “The embassy is in touch with them and it has been instructed to provide an update on the situation,” it added.

According to the AFP news agency, a water tanker stuffed with more than 1,500 kilogrammes of explosives ripped through Kabul’s diplomatic quarter, bringing carnage to the streets of the Afghan capital. Rescue workers were digging bodies from the rubble hours after the explosion. 

According to MoFA Spokesperson Bharat Raj Poudyal, of the five injured Nepalis, four sustained minor injuries and condition of the fifth injured is said to be serious. Those with minor injuries were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday itself. The fifth injured has to undergo surgery. 

All of them were working as security guards. The incident comes as a grim reminder of the vulnerability Nepalis working in the war-torn country are exposed to. In the wake of deaths of 13 Nepalis in a Taliban suicide attack in Kabul in June last year, the government had decided to take extra precautionary measures while sending security guards to Afghanistan and for serving Nepali security guards there. 

Meanwhile, the government has expressed condolences to the Afghan government and people of Afghanistan as well as the bereaved families. “We wish speedy recovery of those injured,” said MoFA, condemning the terrorist attack in the heart of the Afghan capital.

Published on: 1 June 2017 | The Kathmandu Post