Kabul suicide bombing

A suicide bomber in Kabul killed at least 35 people at a tuition centre on Friday 30 September. Over 113 have been left wounded, with a majority of those targeted in the attack being female students.

 

Credit: Voa News.

By: Derry Salter.

The attack occured at the Kaaj Education Centre in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of the Afghan capital, Kabul. Many students were there sitting a practice exam when the suicide bomber struck.

 

The attacker entered the building after shooting at guards outside the centre, before entering a classroom and detonating the bomb. A wounded student claimed that the classroom was full of over 600 people.

 

Family members searched for their loved ones for hours through the damaged classrooms and rubble, with many also desperately searching nearby hospitals.

 

No terror group has claimed the attack yet, though it is suspected to be caused by Islamic State (IS) militants. The IS have frequently targeted Hazaras, a minority group, in the area. Hazaras are Afghanistan’s third largest ethnic group and have frequently faced persecution from the Taliban, who adhere to Sunni Islam, unlike their Shia Islam.

 

The security situation in Afghanistan has been rapidly deteriorating over the past few months, with many attacks on civilians and Taliban supporters. Schools and hospitals have been the main targets of attacks. A similar attack occured in Dasht-e-Barchi earlier last year, before the Taliban regained power, where a bomb went off at a girl’s school killing 85.

 

Dozens of Hazara women took to the streets on Saturday to protest against the suicide bomber. In doing this, they defined the ban on rallies set by the country’s Taliban officials. Over 50 women marched whilst chanting for an end to “Hazara genocide.”

 

The Kaaj Education Centre is a private college where both male and female students can receive an education. Most girls’ schools in the country have been closed since the Taliban regained power in August last year, so Kaaj is one of the only places women can receive an education in the country.

 

Interior Minister Spokesman Abdul Nafy Takor condemned the attack on civilians, stating it “proves the enemy’s inhuman cruelty and lack of moral standards.”

 

Karen Decker, Charge D’Affaires at the US mission to Afghanistan, supported this condemnation, stating: “All students should be able to pursue an education in peace and without fear.”