Kabul blast: 19 killed, 27 injured in suicide bombing at educational institute

A suicide blast at an education institute in Afghanan’s capital city of Kabul has killed 19 people and injured 27 others, reported news agency Reuters quoting Kabul police spokesperson.
Afghan-based media house Tolo News said on Twitter that as per initial reports, at least 19 people were killed in the attack at Kaj educational centre. It quoted Khaled Zadran, the spokesman of the Kabul Security Command, as saying that the students came to the centre to pass the entrance exam.

خالد زدران، سخنگوی فرماندهی امنیه کابل، می‌گوید که بر بنیاد یافته‌های ابتدایی دست‌کم نزده تن در حمله‌ی امروز در مرکز آموزشی “کاج” جان باخته‌اند و بیست‌وهفت تن دیگر زخم برداشته‌اند.آقای زدران می‌افزاید که دانش‌آموزان برای گذراندن آزمون آزمایشی کانکور به این مرکز آمده بودند. pic.twitter.com/LTKkzyHiic
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) September 30, 2022
As per a Reuters report, Zadran said the attack took place at an education institute where an entrance exam was taking place. Schools are normally closed in Afghanan on Fridays.
“Attacking civilian targets proves the enemy’s inhuman cruelty and lack of moral standards,” he said, without specifying who they believed was behind the attack.
The report added that the death toll is likely to rise, with an unnamed hospital source putting the number of dead at 23, while a Taliban source claimed that it is 33.
Ghulm Sadiq, a local resident, told Reuters that he was at home when he heard a loud sound and went outside to see smoke rising from the education 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.
Many of those living in the western area where the blast occurred are Hazara, an ethnic minority targeted in past attacks launched militant group Islamic State, among others.