A senior IMF official and four UN employees were among 21 people killed in a suicide bomb and gun attack on a restaurant in Kabul, officials say.
Wabel Abdallah, the head of the IMF's Afghanistan office, and the UN civilian staff died in what UN chief Ban Ki-moon said was a "horrific attack".
The BBC reports Canadians, Lebanese and a Briton were among the 13 foreign victims; the other eight were Afghans.
The Taliban said it carried out the attack, saying it had been deliberately targeting foreign officials.
Afghan police at the scene of the explosion. Photo: AFP
Police say five women were among the dead at the city's popular Taverna du Liban, and at least five were injured.
The restaurant in Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan area is popular with foreign nationals, diplomats and aid workers, and was busy with diners at the time of the attack.
A suicide attacker detonated his explosives outside the gate of the heavily fortified restaurant, Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayoub Salangi said.
He said two gunmen then entered the restaurant and started "indiscriminately killing" people inside.
Security continues to be a major concern in Afghanistan. The last remaining contingent of NATO-led forces is due to leave by the end of the year, having handed over security to Afghan forces.
Washington is pushing Afghan President Hamid Karzai to sign an agreement which would allow some US troops to stay behind after this year's withdrawal.