Kabul- A suicide bomber struck an education centre in Afghan capital on Friday, killing 19 students and wounding 27 more, reports quoting Kabul police said.
The explosion inside the centre in the Dashti Barchi neighbourhood of Kabul populated mostly by members of Afghanistan’s minority Shia Muslim community took place in the morning hours, said the police spokesman, Khalid Zadran.
The victims included high school graduates, both girls and boys, who were taking a practice university entrance exam when the blast went off, Zadran said. The centre is known as the Kaaj Higher Educational Centre and helps students prepare and study for college entrance exams, among its activities.
Unconfirmed reports circulating online put the death toll at over 100 – many of them children. Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary tweeted horrifying videos of the carnage and quoted a member of the education centre: “We have so far counted 100 dead bodies of our students… number of students killed is much higher.”
“I picked up human body parts… picked up hands and legs. That was all left (of) my former students,” Sarwary quoted one of the instructors in his tweet.
An eyewitness – 19-year-old Shafi Akbari – told the Associated Press around 300 students had been called for an early morning practice exam.
“First, we heard the sounds of a few gunshots at the main gate. Everyone was worried and tried to run to a different direction. Soon after that, a huge explosion occurred inside the center,” he told AP over the phone.
Akbari – fortunately unharmed – said he saw dozens of bodies scattered.
The suicide bombing was the latest in a steady stream of violence since the Taliban seized power.
The Islamic State group or Daesh the chief rival of the Taliban since their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 has in the past targeted the Shia Muslim community, including in Dashti Barchi.
“Our teams have dispatched at the site of the blast to find out more details,” Abdul Nafi Takor, a Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said earlier.
The US charge d’affaires for Afghanistan, Karen Decker, condemned the attack in a tweet.
“Targeting a room full of students taking exams is shameful; all students should be able to pursue an education in peace & without fear,” she said. “We hope for a swift recovery for the victims & we grieve with the families of the deceased.”
Afghanistan’s Hazaras, who are mostly Shia, have been the target of a brutal campaign of violence for the past several years, blamed on the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group. Terrorists have carried out several deadly attacks in Dashti Barchi, including a horrific 2020 attack on a maternity hospital that killed 24 people, mostly newborn babies and mothers. (AP)
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