Conflicts & War

Kabul school bombing death toll climbs to 50

Kabul, May 9 (EFE).- The death toll from a bomb attack near a secondary school for girls in west Kabul climbed to 50, Afghanistan’s interior ministry said Sunday.

“The casualties from yesterday’s terrorist attack near a girl’s school increased. Over 100 are injured,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Tariq Arian said in a statement.

The number of casualties in the attack in a Shiite-majority neighborhood in the west of the Afghan capital may increase as the evacuation of victims continued late into the night on Saturday.

The area has a large population of the persecuted Hazara ethnic minority.

The spokesperson said the attack “was a car bombing, followed by two IED (improvised explosive device) blasts in the same area.”

The explosions detonated when students were leaving school.

“The attack took place in front of the school’s main gate in a completely non-military area,” according to Arian.

“Such places are fully protected under war laws and should not be attacked,” he said.

The spokesperson blamed the Taliban for the bombing.

It was the latest in a stream of attacks carried out by the Taliban on the country’s educational institutions, including a car bomb attack in Logar province on May 1 and another against Kabul University months ago.

He said the Islamic State, which claimed the Logar attack, is a “fake address” used by the Taliban to divest responsibility for civilian casualties.

“The health condition of the injured is improving hourly and they are out of danger,” Public Health Ministry spokesperson Dastagir Nazari told EFE.

The injured are receiving treatment at several hospitals in the capital.

“Most of the victims are school children, especially girls,” he added.

The bombing drew a slew of condemnation from countries and international agencies.

“We condemn yesterday’s horrific attack on Sayed-ul-Shuhada girls’ high school,” the German embassy in Kabul said on Twitter.

“Killing children is an assault on the future of Afghanistan.”

UN’s child agency “strongly” condemned the “horrific attack.”

“Violence in or around schools is never acceptable. Schools must be havens of peace where children can play, learn and socialize safely,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement.

“Children must never be the target of violence. UNICEF continues to call on all parties to the conflict to adhere to international human rights and humanitarian law and ensure the safety and protection of all children,” she added.

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