Taliban security forces arrive at the site of an attack at Shahr-e-naw, one of the main commercial areas in Kabul on December 12, 2022. A loud blast and gunfire were heard in the Afghan capital near a guest house popular with Chinese business visitors, a witness said, according to media reports. Photo: VCG

China felt deeply shocked about the attack on a hotel in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul that wounded five Chinese nationals, and expressed strong opposition against any forms of terrorism. China has asked the Afghan authorities to make all-out efforts to search for and rescue Chinese nationals and punish the perpetrators, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Tuesday’s press briefing, after the extremist militant group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the terror attack.

The IS said in a statement that two of its militants attacked a hotel which was frequently visited by Chinese diplomats and businessmen and detonated two bags containing explosives in the hotel on Monday, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

An emergency hospital said on its Twitter account on Monday night that it had received 21 casualties, including three that were dead on arrival. 

"The terror attack is abominable and China felt deeply shocked," Wang said. "China strongly condemned the attack and felt grief for the Afghan military police who died during the attack, and also sympathetic to the injured."

China appreciated the active move of the Afghan security forces in settling and rescuing the Chinese nationals. China pays high attention to the security situation in Afghanistan and supports Afghanistan's efforts to combat all forms of terrorism and violence and safeguard national security and stability, Wang said.

China also urged the Afghan interim government to take firm measures to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects in Afghanistan, the spokesperson stressed. 

Wang Duanyong, an associate professor from the Shanghai International Studies University, on Monday witnessed the attack on the hotel. Wang was staying on the sixth floor of the hotel and heard an explosion on the seventh and eighth floor. The gunfight lasted approximately one hour, during which time more than 10 explosions occurred, the associate professor told the Global Times.

According to Wang, the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan has urgently made solemn representations to the Afghan interim government, demanding them to make all-out efforts in rescuing Chinese nationals, and to conduct a thorough investigation and severely punish the perpetrators, protecting Chinese citizens and institutions in Afghanistan. The working group of the Chinese embassy went to the attack site on the same day and carried out rescue, treatment and resettlement together with Afghan authorities. 

The Foreign Ministry once again reminds Chinese citizens and institutions in Afghanistan to evacuate Afghanistan as soon as possible and report their identity information to the embassy, strengthening security precautions and emergency preparedness.

The overall security situation in Afghanistan is still grim, Zhu Yongbiao, executive director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road and director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University told the Global Times on Tuesday. There have been terrorist attacks reported since August in 2021, including attacks on the Russian and Pakistani embassies in recent months. Recently more attacks are targeting foreigners, Zhu said.

China’s authorities including the embassy have been making efforts to urge the Afghanistan side to protect foreign citizens and institutions, Zhu noted. For individuals or businesses in Afghanistan, they should raise their awareness of risk prevention, said Zhu.