Dozens of people, many of them young men and women have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul.
News sources have reported that 48 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack which occurred in front of an education centre in the west of the Afghan capital, Kabul on Wednesday.
The suicide bomb attack in the Shia neighbourhood of Dasht-e-Barchi injured dozens of others according to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health.
Authorities had initially thought Kabul was under attack when guards in the area responded to the bomb explosion with a cacophony of gun fire which died down when they realised the attack was carried out by a lone suicide bomber.
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Afghan Police confirmed the suicide bomb attack through its Spokesperson, Hashmat Stanikzai, who said the bomber detonated himself inside the education centre.
A Shia community leader who witnessed the attack said the bomber targeted the course which was ongoing in the education centre at the time of the attack; young men and women had been studying together.
No group has officially claimed responsibility for the attack and the Taliban has denied involvement in the attack through its spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid.
Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani swiftly condemned the attack in a statement while several members of Kabul’s Shia clerical council blamed the Islamic State, IS for the attack.
The clerics based their blame on the fact that IS has been known to carry out attacks using suicide bombers against mosques, schools, government agencies as well as cultural centre.
About 13 attacks have been carried out against the Shia community in Kabul within the past two years.
Abdullah Khenjani, the editor-in-chief at Afghanistan’s 1TV broadcaster is of the opinion that the Taliban had adopted the tactics of the Islamic State in order to shift attention away from its brutal attacks.
He said, “There is a suspicion that Taliban is using ISIL’s name to decrease the public pressure when it comes to these kinds of very brutal attacks on civilians, especially young children.”
The educational institution caught in the suicide bomb attack specialises in preparing high school students for University exams. The centre was very crowded at the time of the attack.
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