A car bomb had exploded at an Iraqi police recruiting center at Kisak, killing at least 55 people and wounding more than 150, mostly schoolgirls, officials said on Monday. Ghani blamed the Taliban.
A senior security official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity, that most of the victims were female schoolgirls coming out of the Said al-Suhada school, and many were seriously injured and hospitalized.
Footage broadcast by ToloNews showed chaotic scenes, with books and school bags strewn across a bloody street, with residents rushing to help the victims.
“It was a car bomb detonated in front of the school entrance,” an eyewitness told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said all but seven or eight of the victims were schoolgirls returning home after school.
At Said ul Suhada High School, girls and boys take classes in three shifts, the second of which is for girls, Naziba Arian, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education, told Reuters. The injured are mostly schoolgirls, he said.
An Interior Ministry spokesman, Tariq Arian, said at least 30 people had been killed and 52 injured.
Sons and daughters
At a nearby hospital, staff transported injured students while dozens of relatives searched for their sons and daughters, according to an eyewitness.
“I do not know what country we live in. We want peace and security,” a relative of one of the victims told Reuters.
Kabul has been on high alert since Washington announced last month its plans to withdraw all US troops by 9/11, with Afghan officials saying the Taliban had stepped up attacks across the country since the US announcement.
No group has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s bombing. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the involvement of the rebels and condemned the incident.
Although Ghani blamed the Taliban, Saturday’s attack took place in a Muslim-majority neighborhood of the capital that has been brutally attacked by Islamic State militants in recent years, including an attack on a maternity clinic just before time.
“The Taliban, by escalating their illicit warfare and violence, have shown once again that they are not just reluctant to resolve the current crisis peacefully and effectively, but are complicating the situation,” Ghani said.
“Unforgivable attack”
US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson condemned the attack on Twitter: “With dozens of dead, this unforgivable attack on children is an attack on the future of Afghanistan that cannot be tolerated.”
The Taliban and the United States signed an agreement last year to end the 20-year war, which began with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks by al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden. of the Taliban offered shelter.
Under the agreement, Washington will withdraw its troops from the country in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban and the latter’s commitment to start peace talks with the Afghan government. The talks started last year, but have since frozen.
The Taliban’s attacks on foreign forces have largely stopped, but continue to target government forces. Journalists, activists and academics have also been killed in attacks on the Taliban, who deny involvement.
Neighboring Pakistan, which exerts significant influence over the Taliban and is pushing them to resume peace talks and agree on a ceasefire, has also condemned the attack.
Last month, Washington announced the postponement of the withdrawal of US troops from May 1 to September 11, 2021, with the Taliban warning that the postponement could have consequences for the deal.
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