Taliban Attack on Kabul Restaurant Shocks Close-Knit Expat Community

KABUL--Shock spread through Kabul's close-knit expatriate community after the Taliban slaughtered 21 people, including the International Monetary Fund's mission chief and a senior United Nations official, in a dinnertime attack on a popular restaurant Friday.

With at least 13 foreigners--including at least two Americans--among the victims, this was the deadliest attack targeting foreign civilians in Kabul since the war began in 2001. Almost everyone among the diplomats, aid workers and journalists based in Afghanistan personally knew at least some of the people who died in the assault on Taverne du Liban.

The massacre dramatically elevated the risk of operating in Kabul, prompting many to reconsider their decision to live in the Afghan capital. "It's shocking. Myself, I will personally not go to any restaurant at all," one foreign humanitarian worker said Saturday. Many international organizations in Kabul placed their personnel on lockdown or imposed movement restrictions following the attack.

The Taliban's switch to targeting foreign civilians in Kabul was likely to precipitate an exodus of expatriates, already under way as international aid shrinks and U.S.-led coalition forces prepare to withdraw from the country by December.

Daoud Sultanzoy, a former lawmaker and TV talk-show host who's a candidate to succeed Hamid Karzai as president in the April elections, called on the West to remain committed to Afghanistan despite Friday's massacre.

"I urge the international community to realize the reason for their presence in Afghanistan. They came to this country because of such atrocious acts, and these acts should not be a reason for their exodus," Mr. Sultanzoy said. "The weaker the resolve of our government and the international community, the more aggressive is the posture of the Taliban."

The Lebanese restaurant targeted Friday was in Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan central district, home to many embassies, aid organizations and guesthouses. At about 7:30 p.m. Friday, a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up at the compound's gate, officials said. Then two other insurgents burst in and gunned down the diners at their tables.

Afghanistan's government said Saturday it removed the district police chief and district intelligence chief responsible for Wazir Akbar Khan after Friday's attack, and placed them under investigation.

On Saturday morning, Afghan and international investigators began scouring the site for body parts and evidence. Several shrapnel-riddled SUVs used by the foreign officials who perished in the attack were still parked outside. The restaurant's sign, decorated with a Lebanese flag, remained above the blown-up gate.

The restaurant's Lebanese owner was among the dead. Established several years ago, Taverne du Liban offered kebabs, fattoush and hummus to foreign--and Afghan--guests. It discreetly served wine to non-Muslims in teapots, and was famous for dishing out large complimentary helpings of chocolate cake with the check.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in an English-language statement that they targeted "a restaurant frequented by high-ranking foreigners where the invaders used to dine with booze and liquor in the plenty." The Taliban called the attack retaliation for an American airstrike Tuesday in Parwan province--north of Kabul--that targeted insurgents and also resulted in civilian casualties. Mr. Karzai strongly condemned that airstrike.

An Afghan intelligence official said the attack on the restaurant required lengthy planning and was likely the work of the Haqqani network, a Taliban-affiliated militant group based in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area.

The dead at Taverne du Liban included Vadim Nazarov, a senior U.N. political officer who spoke fluent Farsi and who--a rarity among Kabul's expats--drove himself around the Afghan capital. A soft-spoken Russian, Mr. Nazarov worked to open a reconciliation dialogue with the Taliban. Instead, he ended up their victim.

In all, four U.N. staff perished in the restaurant. "Such targeted attacks against civilians are completely unacceptable and are in flagrant breach of international humanitarian law. They must stop immediately," the U.N. said.

The IMF, a U.N. affiliate that plays a crucial role in funding the Afghan government and supporting the country's economy, said it lost its mission head in Afghanistan, Wabel Abdallah, a 60-year-old Lebanese.

"This is tragic news, and we at the fund are all devastated," said the lending organization's managing director, Christine Lagarde.

A Danish member of the European Union police mission in Afghanistan and a British citizen who was part of his security team were also among those killed at Taverne du Liban, the EU said. Canada said it lost two citizens in the attack, and Britain said another British national was among the dead.

The U.S. said at least two private American citizens were among the fatalities. No embassy personnel were hurt.

Afghans who died in the Taliban raid included a couple who came to the Lebanese restaurant for a celebratory dinner, and a driver for an Afghan phone company who was waiting outside.