Reporting snapshot · 19 January 2026. The account is drawn from AFP reporting published by Geo News and attributes casualty figures and the attack claim to the officials and monitoring group cited.
What happened
A bombing at a restaurant in Kabul on Monday, 19 January 2026, killed at least seven people, including a Chinese national, according to Afghan police and Chinese officials. Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said six Afghans were also killed in the explosion at the Chinese Noodle restaurant in the city’s Shahr-e-Naw area, which he said mostly served Chinese Muslims.
The regional branch of the Daesh group claimed the attack, the SITE Intelligence Group reported, describing it as a suicide attack targeting Chinese nationals. Five Chinese nationals were also among the wounded, Beijing said.
Why it matters
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing had made urgent representations with the Afghan side, demanding that it spare no effort to treat the injured and further take effective measures to protect the safety of Chinese citizens. China warned its citizens against travelling to Afghanistan and told those already in the country to strengthen security measures and evacuate high-risk areas as soon as possible.
The attack highlights the security risks facing Chinese business visitors, who have travelled to Afghanistan in larger numbers since the Taliban government took power for a second time in 2021. Taliban officials have vowed to restore security and are courting foreign investors as foreign aid funding dries up. China shares a rugged 76-kilometre border with Afghanistan and has close ties with the Taliban administration.
What is still uncertain
The casualty figures came from Kabul police and Beijing rather than a single consolidated count, and it was not clear by the editorial cutoff whether the death toll would be revised. No group beyond the Daesh claim, reported by SITE, had been independently confirmed as responsible.
Sources & reporting notes
This article summarises published reporting and is not eyewitness reconstruction. Sources were reviewed on 19 January 2026.
- Geo News — Beijing urges Afghanistan to protect Chinese citizens after bombing20 January 2026 (event of 19 January 2026) · AFP report on the Kabul restaurant blast, casualty figures, the Daesh claim and China's response.
