After an armed attack on a hotel in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday (December 12, 2022), Beijing tried to downplay the hotel and its connection to China.

The Taliban administration said armed men opened fire on Monday at a hotel popular with Chinese nationals in central Kabul, in an attack that ended with at least three gunmen killed by security forces.

Kabul police spokesman Khaled Zadran said the attack happened around 2:30 pm. Residents in the area said they heard a loud explosion followed by gunfire. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a Twitter post that two foreigners were injured when they tried to escape by jumping off a hotel balcony.

Video tweeted by a journalist in Kabul and verified by Reuters showed smoke billowing from a floor amid gunfire, and someone was seen trying to escape the attack by jumping out of a hotel window.

Taliban sources said the attack took place at the Longan (a homonym for longan) restaurant, where Chinese and other foreigners usually stay.

Islamic State claimed on social media Monday that it carried out the attack on a hotel in Kabul that day.


The day before the attack, the Chinese ambassador met with the Afghan deputy foreign minister to discuss security-related issues and seek more questions about the protection of the Chinese embassy.

A day after the attack, there was no news about it on the website of the Chinese embassy in Kabul.

China's state media Xinhua did not mention in its report on Monday that the hotel in Kabul is a hotel frequently used by Chinese people, and whether any Chinese citizens were injured in the incident, nor did it mention the meeting between the Chinese ambassador and the Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan on security issues the day before. talks.


China Central Television did not mention the incident's connection with China in its report but mentioned that the Khorasan province, a branch of the extremist organization Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the hotel attack.


Since the U.S. and allied forces withdrew from Afghanistan last year, China has grown increasingly concerned about the growing presence of the Islamic State in Khorasan province and its growing targeting of China.


ISIS is believed to have recruited dozens of Turkestan Islamic Party members for high salaries in Khorasan province.


The Turkestan Islamic Party seeks to liberate Xinjiang, liberate the Uyghurs from Chinese government control, and has launched an attack on Chinese interests.