At Least 35 Students Injured in Kabul Explosion

An explosion at an education centre in Kabul injured at least 42 children on Monday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Tuesday, calling for an "investigation to establish the circumstances of this incident".

The incident occurred on Monday evening in the Dasht-e Barchi neighborhood, which is home primarily to members of Afghanistan’s Hazara and Shia minorities. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan called for an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the cause of the explosion. The Taliban-controlled Kabul police did not respond to a request for comment.

The hospital, which admitted at least 35 injured students, reported that all patients were between 10 and 14 years old. They suffered shrapnel wounds, and at least three required surgery.

Richard Bennett, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, described the incident as a “heinous attack”. The European Union delegation in the country condemned deliberate attacks on children and educational centers.

Dasht-e Barchi has repeatedly been targeted in the past by Sunni Islamist militants, including Islamic State. At least 85 people were killed in an attack on a school in 2021, and in 2022, a suicide bomber killed at least 19 people at an educational center.

(Reuters, bak)