URGENT -- IMF representative killed in Kabul restaurant attack, Fund says

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- A resident representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was among at least fourteen people killed on Friday during a coordinated assault on an upscale restaurant popular with foreigners in the Afghan capital of Kabul, the Fund confirmed.

"We have just learned that our dear colleague and friend Wabel Abdallah, our Resident Representative in Afghanistan, was killed in an attack at a restaurant in Kabul in which many people were killed," said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. "This is tragic news, and we at the Fund are all devastated."

Lagarde added: "Our hearts go out to Wabel's family and friends, as well as the other victims of this attack."

Wabel Abdallah, 60, was a Lebanese national who was appointed Resident Representative in June 2008. He joined the Fund from the Central Bank of Lebanon in 1993, and has held various IMF positions, particularly posts relating to IMF activities and operations in the Middle East.

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