Indian Embassy In Kabul NOT Attacked Recently, Viral Photographs Are Old

Photos show the aftermath of a recent attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul. 

Such posts can be seen here and here.

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A keyword search for “Indian Embassy,” “Kabul” and “attack” on Google did not yield credible reports/releases about any recent attack on the Indian establishment in Afghanistan.

India had shut down its embassy in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in 2021. In June 2022, however, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, said a technical team has been deployed at the Indian embassy in Kabul. In May 2025, India resumed the visa service for Afghanistan nationals wishing to visit the country for business, education and medical treatment.

We then investigated the images allegedly showing a recent attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul one-by-one, and found them to be old. 

A Google Lens search on the image led us to a report by NDTV, dated May 23, 2014, titled ‘Indian Consulate Attacked in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai Calls Narendra Modi.’ It featured the same image with the caption, “Afghan security forces watch a house burn at the site of a clash between insurgents and security forces at the Indian Consulate in Herat in Afghanistan on May 23, 2014.”

“The Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Herat was attacked by four gunmen who tried to enter the complex and later fired from neighbouring buildings. All four were killed in an operation that lasted almost 10 hours,” the report detailed.

A PTI report from May 2014 also carried the same photo while elaborating on the attack on the Indian consulate in Afghanistan’s Herat. 

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We looked up the image  on Google Lens which yielded a report by Sky News, dated May 31, 2017, stating, “Up to 400 others were injured when the suicide attacker drove into the capital’s diplomatic quarter during the morning rush-hour before setting off explosives. The blast left a 16ft-deep crater near Zanbaq Square in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, where foreign embassies are located, including the German premises which was badly damaged.” 

It featured the same viral image with the caption, “The German embassy was badly damaged in the attack.” 

The image was also featured in an Al Jazeera report to show the situation outside the German embassy in Kabul after the blast in May 2017. 

We found a report by PTI, dated October 10, 2009, carrying the same image with the caption, “Indian Foreign Secy Nirupama Rao with Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Jayant Prasad in Kabul.” “Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI was behind the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul which killed 17 people and wounded more than 60 others, Afghan envoy to the US has claimed,” it stated.

The photo was also listed in stock image website Alamy with the caption, “Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, left, is flanked by Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Jayant Prasad, as she visits the Indian Embassy which was the target of suicide car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 9, 2009.”

Notably, the claim has surfaced around the anniversary of the 2008 suicide attack on Indian Embassy in Kabul. A Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) had targeted the main gate of the Embassy of India in Kabul hitting a diplomatic vehicle on July 7, 2008.

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Hence, we find the viral photos claiming to show a recent attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul were old. The Embassy has not been under any attack in the recent past. 

Sources
Report By NDTV, Dated May 23, 2014
Report By PTI, Dated May 23, 2014
Report By Sky News, Dated May 31, 2017
Report By Al Jazeera, Dated May 31, 2017
Report By PTI, Dated October 10, 2009
Alamy Website