Kabul attack on Canadian Embassy guards

Kabul attack on Canadian Embassy Guards
Part of War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
A minibus travelling through a market in Afghanistan
Location	Ninth police district, Benayi, Kabul, Afghanistan
Date	June 20, 2016 (2016-06-20) Around 0600 (AFT)
Weapons	Suicide belt
Deaths	15+ or 16 (+1)
Non-fatal injuries	9
Victims	Canadian Embassy security guards
Perpetrators	A suicide bomber of the Taliban or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Motive	Terrorism

On June 20, 2016, at around 0600 AFT, a suicide bombing attack claimed to be conducted by the Taliban or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant hit a convoy of Canadian embassy security guards en route to the embassy in Kabul. The attack took place in the ninth police district in the Benayi area, Kabul, Afghanistan. The victims were Nepalese contractors, with some sources claiming that there were also Afghan contractors, and other sources claiming that the Afghan nationals were not security contractors and were instead nearby. Other sources also claimed that there were two Indian guards among the dead. Many civilians at a nearby market were among the nine people injured in the blast, some seriously. The attack occurred during the holy month of Ramadan. The incident sparked debates on the presence of foreign workers in conflict-countries, with many criticising the Canadian government for negligence. There have been debates on this subject before, especially after the Nisour Square massacre, a very different situation.

On the same day, there was another Taliban bombing in Kabul that was an assassination attempt on a politician that killed one and injured 5 others, including the politician. There was also another suspected Taliban bombing in Afghanistan, this time in Badakhshan. This second attack killed at least 10 people and injured 40.

The attack was another in a series of attacks on security guards and government workers conducted by the Taliban that occurred in the last couple of months before the attack. The attack also occurred during the Kunduz-Takhar highway hostage crisis.

The security guards were travelling on a mini bus that was on its way to the Canadian embassy. They were in the capital, Kabul, travelling through early-morning traffic when a suicide bomber who was inside a compound approached the minibus, which at that time was travelling through a market where several civilians were shopping. The bomber noticed the foreign vehicle and approached it on foot, after putting on a suicide belt. The suicide bomber then blew himself up with an unknown device at the minibus. The blast blew the windows out of the vehicle and left blood stains on the outside of the bus. The blast also injured many civilians who were at the market that the minibus was travelling through. Witnesses described seeing multiple people dead and injured. The injured were rescued from the mangled vehicle. Everyone actually located at the embassy were safe.