Reports say at least 35 young people were killed and more than eighty wounded when a suicide bomber targeted a school in Kabul, Afghanistan. Local journalist Bilal Sarwary says the number of dead is much higher. He reported that one hundred had been counted so far.
Another Attack On Hazara Shia Community!Explosion At The Kabul Education Centre in Dasht E Brachi That Killed Atleast 30 Students
Shame On Afghanistan Government!#KABULBLAST pic.twitter.com/8jGyhFRCti— Moعis Riضvi (@Monis_rizvi_11O) October 1, 2022
On September 30, around six hundred high school graduates, primarily girls, gathered to take a practice entrance exam for university. Although the Taliban have closed girls’ schools, some private schools remain open. The Kaaj Education Center is located in a Hazara Shia neighborhood.
The Hazaras have been persecuted for centuries. Historians say they once made up two-thirds of the Afghan population, but massacres and forced migration dwindled their numbers to around 20% today. Taliban targeted them in their former rule in the 1990s, so much so that some called it a genocide. Since the Taliban came back to power last year, discrimination, extortion, and extrajudicial killings have resumed.
The Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), an ISIS affiliate, also targets the Hazaras. This group has claimed responsibility for 13 attacks since August 2021. Many of these attacks were suicide bombings of Shia mosques during Friday prayer. They also attack schools and workplaces.
On the day of the attack, the young academics aged between eighteen and twenty-five arrived early for the practice exam. According to Shafi Akbary, “First, we heard gunshots at the main gate. Everyone was worried and tried to run in a different direction. Soon after that, a huge explosion occurred inside the center.”
A twenty-year-old who asked for her name to be withheld told CNN she was about twenty steps from the entrance when the explosion knocked her down. In tears, she said, “When I got inside, I saw many of my classmates in blood. I found out that the explosion had happened in my classroom.”
Nineteen-year-old Waheda spoke about seeing her dead classmates. She said her leg was injured, but she managed to escape. “I just wanted an education. I didn’t think we would be killed for this,” she said.
The space between two Shia killing is called peace in world.#KabulAttack pic.twitter.com/fdPd2ki0M5
— Amjad Baltistani (@AmjadBaltistani) October 1, 2022
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, condemned the attack. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls the attack on Kaj training center in the 13th district of Kabul a big crime, strongly condemns it and expresses deepest sympathy to the families of the victims of this incident,” he tweeted.
The Taliban did not show sympathy the day after the attack when they beat and shot at Hazara protesters. “We were marching together and chanting for justice for our Hazara sisters who were murdered yesterday. This is a genocide of the Hazaras, and all we want is education and freedom,” said one woman. Another protester who did not want to be named told reporters, “The Talib sprayed pepper spray in our eyes, whipped us, and humiliated us by calling us “prostitutes.” Another woman said that she was beaten with the edge of their guns. “I am still in pain as I speak,” she said.
#AFG Taliban soldier using a pistol against unarmed female university students in Herat during peaceful demonstrations. This is how the Taliban are treating Afghan women. pic.twitter.com/KOuxVQqP3u
— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) October 2, 2022
Over the weekend, the protests spread to two additional provinces. Women attending a march at Herat University received the same treatment.
#AFG Taliban MINUS 2.0 in action. Taliban’s crackdown against female students at Herat university. pic.twitter.com/mig32t3wrk
— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) October 2, 2022
No group has claimed responsibility, but Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said that police had arrested someone who may have links to the attack. No other information has been released.
