Suicide bomber detonates explosives near Russian embassy entrance in Kabul

Russia’s embassy in Kabul was attacked by a suicide bomber today, police have said.

The bomber approached the gates of the embassy in Afghanistan’s capital, but was shot dead by Taliban guards. Despite the bomber being shot, it was reported by some news outlets that explosives were detonated.

It was not immediately clear how many casualties there were in the attack.

‘The suicide attacker before reaching the target, was recognised and shot by Russian embassy (Taliban) guards … there is no information about casualties yet,’ Mawlawi Sabir, the head of the police district where the attack took place, told Reuters.

Russia is one of the few countries to have maintained an embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took over the country more than a year ago.

Although Moscow does not official recognise the Taliban’s government, they have been in talks with officials over an agreement supply gasoline and other commodities.

The bombing is the latest in a series of attacks across the country, which was seized by Taliban insurgents last year who overthrew the last Western-backed government.

On Friday, a huge bomb blast outside a mosque killed multiple civilians and a high-profile pro-Taliban cleric, who this year had called for those who commit ‘the smallest act’ against the government to be beheaded.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow…