Afghani President Ashraf Ghani has ordered a full investigation into a bomb attack on the governor’s house in southern Kandahar province in which five Emirati humanitarian workers were killed.
In comments published by news agency WAM, Ghani vehemently condemned the attack which took place inside the guesthouse at about 8pm local time on Tuesday.
He offered his deep condolences to the families of those killed, and wished for a full and quick recovery of those injured.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Emiratis who died were named as Mohammed Ali Zainal Al Bastaki, Abdullah Mohammed Essa Obaid Al Kaabi, Ahmed Rashid Salim Ali Al Mazroui, Ahmed Abdul Rahman Ahmad Al Tunaiji, and Abdul Hamid Sultan Abdullah Ibrahim Al Hammadi.
UAE Ambassador, Juma Mohammed Abdullah Al Kaabi, was also in the guesthouse when the explosion happened.
A statement released by the Afghani Presidential Palace said that the UAE ambassador had travelled to Kandahar for the laying of the foundation stone of Al-Nahyan Charity House in the province.
“Enemies of the Afghan people targeted Kandahar governor, the United Arab Emirates Ambassador in Afghanistan, and our citizens in a terrorist attack,” said Ghani.
He said that enemies of Afghanistan, who are against stability and development of Afghanistan, “cannot weaken the strong will of our people to rebuild Afghanistan by carrying out such terrorist acts”.
The president also said that such acts “cannot and will not affect the good and friendly relations, and cooperation between Afghanistan and the UAE”.
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan ordered flags flown at half-mast for three days in mourning.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minster of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, paid tribute to the humanitarian workers.
He said that the Emirati workers “are a source of pride for the nation”.
Sheikh Mohammed also affirmed that the UAE will continue to provide humanitarian and development assistance to affected communities and support people in need regardless of challenges.
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