By Ebi Kesiena
A suicide bomber attacked an education centre in the Afghan capital on Friday where hundreds of students were preparing for university exams, killing at least 20 people, most of them young women.
The bombing happened in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood of western Kabul, a predominantly Shiite Muslim area home to the minority Hazara community, the target of some of Afghanistan’s most deadly attacks.
The bomber shot dead two security guards before entering the gender-segregated classroom, student Ali Irfani, who escaped the carnage, told AFP.
“Not many boys were hit because they were at the rear end of the classroom. The bomber entered from the front door where girls were sitting,” he said.
Akbar, another student witness, also told AFP that young women made up most of the casualties, with up to 600 people in the hall at the time.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast at Kaaj Higher Educational Centre, which coaches students for university admission tests.
However, the jihadist Islamic State group has claimed previous attacks in the area targeting girls, schools and mosques.
A resident who ferried victims to hospitals said he saw body parts scattered across the floor of the hall.
“Many students were hit by shrapnel in their head, neck and eyes,” said Asadullah Jahangir.
Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said 20 people were killed and 27 others wounded.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told AFP that at least 24 people were killed and 36 others wounded in the attack, adding the numbers were expected to rise.
A shopkeeper from the neighbourhood said there was a loud explosion and then crowds of students rushed out of the centre.
“It was chaos as many students, boys and girls, tried to escape from the building. It was a horrific scene. Everyone was so scared,” he told AFP, requesting anonymity.
Italian NGO Emergency, which operates a hospital in Kabul, said it had received 22 patients, including 20 women, two of whom had died.
“The victims are all between 18 and 25 years old, and most of them were in the classroom to take an exam,” it said in a statement.
