The Taliban claimed responsibility Saturday for a bombing at a Kabul cafe Friday that killed 21 people, including two Americans and a number of prominent officials and Westerners.
The attack was retribution for a coalition airstrike in which “up to 30 innocent civilians” were killed in a coalition airstrike north of Kabul, Afghanistan, two days before, the Taliban said. The attack was notable for targeting a low-security restaurant popular with foreigners, unlike more typical attacks where the Taliban targets fortified Western government compounds, according to The New York Times.
Among the dead are the United Nations chief political affairs officer in Afghanistan, the International Monetary Fund’s representative in the country, and two Americans working at the American University in Kabul.