At least 19 people were killed in a suicide attack on an educational institution in the Afghan capital, Kabul. That reports news channel Al Jazeera. About 27 people were injured. It is one of the deadliest attacks in Kabul in the past year. It is not clear who committed the attack.
Among the victims are mainly high school students who were preparing for their university entrance exams in the education center. Schools in Afghanistan are usually closed on Fridays. An exception was made at this educational institute because of the entrance exam. Students were taking a practice exam when a “suicide bomber struck,” a police spokesman told Al Jazeera.
The attack took place in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood in western Kabul, where many residents belong to the Hazara ethnic minority. Human rights organization Amnesty International reported torture and executions of Hazara by the Taliban earlier this month. Amnesty speaks of a broader pattern of violence by the Taliban towards the Hazara, because they see the group as an opponent. The Hazara are also regularly victims of attacks by the terrorist group that calls itself Islamic State in Khorasan. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the school.
In the summer of last year, the Taliban claimed power in Afghanistan after US troops withdrew from the country. In the years before the seizure of power, there were regular terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. As ruler, the Taliban promised to restore security and stability, but even now attacks are regularly committed. Most of the attacks are claimed by Islamic State in Khorasan. This terrorist movement is at war with the Taliban because of ideological differences.