Five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates were among 11 people killed by an explosion inside the governor's home in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, the UAE government confirmed Wednesday.
"We mourn today with pride the martyrs of the UAE humanitarian work in the Republic of Afghanistan," UAE ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum wrote on Twitter.
The UAE Ambassador Juma Mohammad Abdullah Al Kaabi along with the governor of Kandahar were among eight others wounded in the blast.
Flags in the UAE will fly at half mast for three days to mourn victims of the blast, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the group's involvement in the incident saying, it "is enemy internal dispute, not connected with Mujahidin."
The explosion took place on Tuesday during a high-ranking meeting between the UAE delegation and the Kandahar governor.
DPA
