By Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Sayed Hassib
Saturday October 1, 2022
KABUL, Sept 30 (Reuters) - A suicide attack at a tutoring
centre in the Afghan capital Kabul killed at least 19 people and wounded
dozens, police said on Friday, but there was no immediate claim of
responsibility for the blast.
Many of those living in the western area where the blast
occurred are Hazara, an ethnic mostly Shi'ite Muslim minority targeted in past
attacks launched by the ultra-radical Islamic State and others.
Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the official
toll was 19 people dead and 27 wounded.
He said the attack took place at a private tutoring centre
where an exam was taking place. Schools are usually closed in Afghanistan on
Fridays.
"Attacking civilian targets proves the enemy's inhuman
cruelty and lack of moral standards," he said, without specifying who was
believed to be behind the attack.
The official death toll is likely to rise. A hospital source
said 23 people had been killed. A Taliban source said 33 people had been killed
and that female students were among the casualties.
Ghulm Sadiq, a local resident, said he was at home when he
heard a loud sound and went outside to see smoke rising from the centre where
he and neighbours rushed to help.
"My friends and I were able to move around 15 wounded
and 9 dead bodies from the explosion site ... other bodies were lying under
chairs and tables inside the classroom," he said.
Karen Decker, the U.S. charge d'affaires in Afghanistan,
condemned the blast.
"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 in a message on Twitter.
The age of the students was not immediately clear, but
private institutes such as the one targeted prepare teenage students in their
final years of high school for university entrance exams.
Girls' high schools have been closed in Kabul in recent
months after the ruling Taliban made a U-turn on promises to open all schools,
but Kabul residents and education workers have said that female students have
still been attending private tutoring centres.
Since taking over Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban
have emphasised that they are securing the nation following decades of war, but
in recent months there have been a series of blasts at mosques and civilian
areas.
Teenage students were among the 24 people killed in a 2020
attack claimed by Islamic State at a similar education centre in west Kabul.
Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Syed Hassib; Writing
by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Jacqueline Wong and
Raju Gopalakrishnan