The White House condemned the Jan. 17 Taliban attack on a restaurant in Kabul that killed 21 people, including two American college workers.
CNN reported earlier Saturday that two American University of Afghanistan workers were among the 13 foreigners killed in the attack. The news agency also reported that two people were wounded.
“There is no possible justification for this attack, which has killed innocent civilians, including Americans,” said Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, in a prepared statement. “We call again on the Taliban to put down their arms and begin peace talks, which is the surest way to end the conflict in a peaceful manner.”
U.S. Gen. Joseph Dunford, Jr., the top-commander of U.S./NATO forces in Afghanistan, also condemned the attack, calling it “brutal” and “senseless.”
The Taliban said the attack was carried out in retaliation for a Jan. 15 raid by U.S./NATO and Afghan forces that targeted senior Taliban leaders, reported Long War Journal.
A spokeswoman for the U.S./NATO coalition, formally known as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), told Breitbart News found that no one from ISAF was killed in the attack. ISAF presence in Kabul includes both military service members and civilians.
Among the dead were civilians from Afghanistan, Europe, Britain, Canada, and Russia. International Monetary Fund representative Wabel Abdallah, a Lebanese national, and four U.N. Afghanistan Mission staff members were also killed by the Taliban.
The Jan. 17 attack began when a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up near the entrance of a Lebanese restaurant in Kabul. That was followed by two gunmen charging in to spray patrons with bullets. The attack resulted in the death of 21 people, including 13 foreigners.