The number of civilian casualties from a deadly attack that targeted a tuition center in West Kabul late in September has jumped to 58 dead and 126 wounded, according to the figures that Kabul Now has verified recently.
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a classroom of nearly 1,000 students on Friday, September 30, when the students were taking a practice test at Kaaj academy. Most of the victims of the attack are teenage girls of Hazara ethnicity.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
West Kabul, mostly populated by the Hazaras, has witnessed a dramatic increase in deadly attacks since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. The attacks have usually targeted public places such as schools, tutoring centers, public transportation buses, and hospitals.
The ISKP have claimed responsibility for alike previous attacks carried out against the Hazaras in Kabul.
The attack drew lots of reactions inside and outside Afghanistan and sparked unprecedented protests around the world. The ruling Taliban, however, violently suppressed all the protests in Afghanistan.
Subsequently, more than 100 cities witnessed protest rallies in different countries, and a hashtag campaign titled #StopHazarGenocide was launched on social media, particularly on Twitter. The protesters called on the United Nations and the international community to officially recognize Hazara Genocide and provide protection for them in Afghanistan.
The protest rallies are still ongoing in some countries and the hashtag has been used more than 10 million times on Twitter as yet.
