At least 30 people were killed and over 70 were wounded outside an educational center in the western part of Kabul city on Saturday evening, a security official confirmed.
The incident happened in the Pul-e-Khoshk area of Dasht-e-Barchi after a suicide bomber detonated explosives close to the center, according to officials.
The Interior Ministry said that the suicide bomber was identified by security guards at the center and detonated his explosives before reaching his target.
“Most of the victims are young and teenagers,” according to officials.
The Taliban rejected involvement in the attack.
The Kawsar educational center is located in a narrow street. The suicide bomber who was trying to enter the center was reportedly identified in the middle of the street in the west of Kabul, according to eyewitnesses.
Eyewitnesses said dozens of students were in their classes when the attack happened.
A number of nearby houses were also damaged in the attack.
A funeral ceremony will be held on Sunday for the victims of the attack.
The family of the victims have urged the government to undertake a “serious investigation” into the attack.
A similar explosion happened in the west of Kabul in 2018, killing 48 students.
The attack was widely condemned
Condemnation of the attack
US Chargé d’Affaires Ross Wilson condemned the Kabul attack, saying: “Afghans want a peaceful future and reject this violence, and Americans stand with them.”
Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council of National Reconciliation in a statement condemned the suicide attack, saying it is inhuman and against Islamic principles and values.
Sharhzad Akbar, the chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said: “After a week of horrific violence across Afghanistan” the news on the attack “drains every last ounce of energy and hope.”
Pakistani envoy Mohammad Sadiq said Pakistan “condemns in the strongest possible terms the inhuman terrorist attack outside an educational center in Kabul.”
“This has been a deadly weekend for schoolchildren in Afghanistan”, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement.
“Earlier today, an attack outside an educational center in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi area left 16 people dead and 45 people injured, many of them women and children,” Fore said.
“Attacks on education are a grave violation of children’s rights. Schools must be places of safety and learning, not death traps,” she added.
UNAMA condemned Saturday’s blast, calling it “a callous and senseless war crime,” and the UN mission urged redoubled efforts to stem violence and focus on peace talks.
