KABUL: Three Chinese citizens were found murdered in an apartment in Afghanistan's capital, according to a statement issued by China's embassy in Kabul carried on a Chinese state-run news agency whereas two others were reported as missing.

The statement said that the five were all self-employed business people and the two women were killed accidentally when they stopped at the apartment while criminals were inside, the agency reported.

Police said that the murder victims included two women and a man, who were shot late on Thursday along with their Afghan guard, adding that their deaths were only reported by a neighbour on Friday.

The identity of the victims and motive for the killings were also unclear.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack though both the Taliban and criminal groups have been involved in the kidnapping and killing of foreign nationals in Afghanistan in the past.

Earlier the embassy had said two Chinese were missing after the murder but it was later quoted by China's state news agency Xinhua as saying that one has been found and taken to a safe place. A search was going on for the other missing person.

Afghan officials did not respond to calls on Saturday, the last day of the three-day Eidul Fitr public holiday.

The Chinese embassy also did not respond to repeated calls or email.

Pictures of the crime scene showed a cluttered double bed with pink pillows in a dingy room, with bare walls and very little furniture. The worn red carpet was also littered with items like clothes and what appeared to be a power cable.

The attack did not appear to be linked to the huge Aynak copper deposit in Logar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan's largest foreign investment project run by a Chinese consortium.

In November, Afghanistan's mining mister said about 150 Chinese workers had returned to the mine after earlier fleeing because of rockets attacks on the project.

Hundreds of Chinese are working on different projects in Afghanistan.

China, which shares a 76-kilometre border with Afghanistan's far northeast, has secured major oil and copper mining concessions in Afghanistan, which is believed to have more than $1 trillion worth of minerals.