London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jan 04, 2026

Afghanistan: Taxi driver, shopkeeper: UK victims of Kabul attack

Afghanistan: Taxi driver, shopkeeper: UK victims of Kabul attack

An Uber driver from Hampshire and a shopkeeper from north London were among those who died in the Kabul attack.

Mohammad Niazi and Musa Popal were killed after a blast shook the Afghan capital on Thursday.

Zohra Popal said her father was said to be waving his British passport at US troops when the explosion occurred.

Mr Popal, 60, and Mr Niazi, died as thousands waited for evacuation outside Kabul airport after the Taliban seized control of the city.

The UK Foreign Office has so far confirmed two British nationals and the child of a British national were killed in the attack.

Mr Popal ran the Madeena Supermarket in Hendon, north London, for more than 20 years and had travelled to Afghanistan in June with his wife to visit family.

His daughter Zohra said her mother survived the blast, but Mr Popal's 14-year-old grandson Hameed was still missing.

Hameed Popal remains missing after the attack on Thursday

Zohra, who moved to the UK to join her parents in 2014, said: "My mother, she had to crawl away, covered in blood and pieces of people. She saw everything.

"There was blood everywhere, she told us, and they were slipping in it when they were trying to get up.

"It was so loud that some of them are still deaf and can't hear each other. It was a living nightmare for them.

"Had we known anything like this would happen, we wouldn't have let them go."

Mr Popal ran the Madeena Supermarket in Hendon for more than two decades

She said her mother had lost everything in the bombing, including her documents, and that she and other relatives were still in danger after the UK's withdrawal on Saturday.

Describing her father as "loving" and "supportive", Ms Popal said he had always helped her with her assignments at the College of North West London.

Ms Popal said she had yet to be contacted by the Foreign Office following her father's death.

Mohammad Niazi - a taxi driver living in Farnborough - was also killed in the attack after he travelled to Afghanistan to help his family get inside the airport.

Friends believe his Afghan wife and children - who were thought to be having visa problems - were also killed.

One of his friends, Dinez Carnay, said Mr Niazi had told him he was flying to Afghanistan to get his family and that was the last he had heard.He told the BBC: "When you know somebody and suddenly you learn he passed away, especially in a very difficult circumstance, then all you have to do is to pray for the soul."

Mr Niazi's brother Abdul Hamid said he was killed during the firing in the aftermath of the blast.

As many as 170 people died in the suicide attack, including 13 US service personnel.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
From Sunniest Year on Record to Terror Plots and Sports Triumphs: The UK’s Defining Stories of 2025
Greta Thunberg Released on Bail After Arrest at London Pro-Palestinian Demonstration
Banksy Unveils New Winter Mural in London Amid Festive Season Excitement
UK Households Face Rising Financial Strain as Tax Increases Bite and Growth Loses Momentum
UK Government Approves Universal Studios Theme Park in Bedford Poised to Rival Disneyland Paris
UK Gambling Shares Slide as Traders Respond to Steep Tax Rises and Sector Uncertainty
Starmer and Trump Coordinate on Ukraine Peace Efforts in Latest Diplomatic Call
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
UK Fashion Label LK Bennett Pursues Accelerated Sale Amid Financial Struggles
U.S. Government Warns UK Over Free Speech in Pro-Life Campaigner Prosecution
Newly Released Files Shed Light on Jeffrey Epstein’s Extensive Links to the United Kingdom
Prince William and Prince George Volunteer Together at UK Homelessness Charity
UK Police Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’ as Authorities Recalibrate Free Speech Enforcement
Scambodia: The World Owes Thailand’s Military a Profound Debt of Gratitude
Women in Partial Nudity — and Bill Clinton in a Dress and Heels: The Images Revealed in the “Epstein Files”
×