IMF and UN officials killed in Kabul restaurant attack

18 Jan BBC

A senior IMF official and three UN employees were among 14 people killed in a suicide bomb and gun attack on a restaurant in Kabul, officials say.

Wabel Abdallah, the head of the IMF's Afghanistan office, and the UN civilian staff died in the capital's popular Taverna du Liban, in what UN chief Ban Ki-moon said was a “horrific attack”.The other victims were Afghans, a Briton and another Lebanese national.The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack late .

The restaurant in Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan area is popular with foreign nationals, diplomats and aid workers, and was busy with diners at the time of the attack.A suicide attacker detonated his explosives outside the gate of the heavily-fortified restaurant, Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi said.Two gunmen then entered the restaurant and started “indiscriminately killing” people inside.International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde later confirmed that Wabel Abdallah, 60, a Lebanese national, was among those who died.“This is tragic news, and we at the fund are all devastated,” Ms Lagarde said in a statement.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned “in the strongest terms the horrific attack”, his spokesman said.Such targeted attacks against civilians are completely unacceptable and are in flagrant breach of international humanitarian law. They must stop immediately,” Mr Ban was quoted as saying. Separately, the UK Foreign Office (FCO) confirmed that a British national was among those killed in the incident and that it was ready to provide consular assistance to the person's family.Kamal Hamade, the well-known Lebanese owner of the restaurant, and four women were among the dead. A number of people were injured.I was sitting with my friends in the kitchen when an explosion happened and smoke filled the kitchen,” Abdul Majid, a chef at the restaurant, told AFP news agency.

“A man came inside shouting and he started shooting.