KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – An explosion inside a private school in western Kabul on Monday afternoon injured several students, including children, as they were leaving their classrooms, health sources confirmed.
The blast occurred at about 4:30 p.m. local time at Shams-e-Hedayat private school in Mahdia Township, in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul’s 13th district, according to the sources.
A health source in western Kabul told KabulNow that a grenade was thrown from an alley opposite the school into its courtyard after students had been dismissed from their classes.
The source said the explosion caused casualties but did not provide a specific figure. Most of those injured were young children, the source said, adding that both girls and boys were among the injured.
Several injured students were taken to hospitals for treatment. The severity of their injuries were not immediately known.
Video footage obtained by KabulNow showed ambulances at the scene and transporting people injured in the blast.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Taliban authorities have not commented.
The explosion occurred in Dasht-e-Barchi, a densely populated part of western Kabul that is predominantly home to Afghanistan’s Shia Hazara community. The area has repeatedly been targeted by militant groups, particularly Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), the regional affiliate of Islamic State.
ISIS-K has carried out a series of deadly attacks against Hazara civilians in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan in recent years. The group has targeted schools, hospitals, public transportation, mosques, gyms and other civilian sites.
This is a developing story…
