UAE ambassador dies of injuries sustained in Afghanistan terror attack

Juma Al Kaabi (centre left), UAE's Ambassador to Afghanistan, cuts a ribbon with Dr Humayoon Azizi (centre right), the Governor of Kandahar province, during a ceremony in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Kandahar Gov Office / EPA

ABU DHABI // The UAE Ambassador to Afghanistan, Juma Al Kaabi, has died of injuries sustained in a terrorist attack in Kandahar in January in which five others Emiratis died.

The Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced his death via Twitter on Wednesday.

Five Emirati aid workers were among at least 11 people killed when explosives placed under a sofa went off as the Kandahar governor was entertaining a UAE delegation at his guesthouse.

A statement on Wam read: “It is with great sadness and sorrow that we mourn the martyr of the nation, Juma Mohammed Abdullah Al Kaabi, who lost his soul for the sake of humanity.”

Following the incident last month, Al Kaabi had been receiving medical treatment in one of the specialty hospitals in France, reported state news agency Wam.

The blast, which struck the provincial governor’s office during a visit by the UAE delegation who were attending the opening of an orphanage, killed at least eleven people, including five Emirati diplomats, and wounded 17 others.