KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – An explosion was heard in the Dasht-e-Barchi, a predominantly Hazara and Shia area in western Kabul, according to local sources.
Sources said the explosion occurred this evening, Saturday, August 22, near the Nanwa-ei Station, opposite the Paiwand Market. They said the blast was caused by a hand grenade.
There is currently no information about possible casualties or damage caused by the explosion.
Taliban authorities in Kabul have not yet commented on the incident.
The incident comes just days after another explosion was reported on Monday, August 17, inside the compound of the private Sham-e-Hedayat School in the Mahdia township of Dasht-e-Barchi, in Kabul’s 18th security district.
At least 52 people were injured, most of them children, health sources said. Emergency Hospital in Kabul said 35 injured people were taken to the facility, all of them children aged between 10 and 14. The hospital said at least three of the patients required surgical care.
UNAMA confirmed that 42 children aged between nine and 14 were among those injured. The mission expressed sympathy with the children and their families and called for a full investigation to establish how the explosion occurred.
Dasht-e-Barchi, a predominantly Hazara and Shia area in western Kabul, has repeatedly been the scene of deadly attacks targeting civilians, students, educational institutions, mosques and other public places. The area has witnessed some of the deadliest attacks against Afghanistan’s Hazara community in recent years, raising persistent concerns about the protection of civilians and minority communities.
While the Taliban authorities say security has improved across Afghanistan since their return to power, such attacks continue to occur, with ethnic and religious minorities often among the targets.
In its latest report released in June, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recorded 3,687 safety and security incidents across Afghanistan in the three months from February to April this year, a rise of more than 57% compared with the same period last year.
