On Friday morning, at least 20 people were killed and 27 others wounded in a suicide bombing at a learning center in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.
According to local reports, students were preparing for an exam when a suicide bomber struck at this educational center.
The incident occurred in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood in western Kabul, which is home to ethnic ‘Hazaras’, who belong to Afghanistan’s minority Shiite community.
Right after the incident, there were videos circulating on social media showing the bodies of the victims and people on the scene trying to help the injured.
According to Washingtonpost, around 300 recent high school graduates, both boys and girls, had turned up at the Kaaj Higher Educational Center at 6:30 a.m. to take practice exams.
The institution assists students in preparing and studying for entrance tests, among other activities, and the explosion occurred approximately an hour into the session.
There has been no claim of responsibility as of yet for the attack that took place on Friday.
But the Islamic State group, which is the Taliban’s main rival, has been leading a violent campaign that has gotten worse since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
However, Dashti-e-Barchi region was notorious for violence long before the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan.
Islamic State considers Shiites to be heretics, and as a result, it has frequently carried out attacks on Shiite communities and their places of worship.
In 2021, Reuters reported that three bombs exploding in schools, killed 85 students, mostly female, while 300 were left injured.
Karen Decker, who serves as the U.S. chargé d’affaires in Afghanistan, posted condemnation of the incident in a tweet. It is a disgrace to target a room full of students who were there to take examinations; all students should be able to pursue an education in safety and without fear.
Schools “must be places of peace where children can learn, play with friends, and feel safe as they develop the skills they will need in the future. Children and teenagers should never be the target of violence, said Unicef in a statement.
Education continues to be a contested issue in Afghanistan since the Taliban restricted many female students from continuing their education beyond the primary level.
