In the Afghan capital, five people were killed, and dozens were injured in an explosion and fire at the opening of the Iranian Book Fair at Kabul University.
The blast was heard as far away from Kabul. The Security forces cordoned off the area. According to initial reports, Akmal Samson, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, confirmed two deaths in the attack, but the local media said six bodies had been transferred to the Kabul hospitals so far, with several injured in critical condition. The death toll is expected to have risen.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Aryan said that the area was still under firing. He told reporters that the Taliban had been attacked, while the Taliban had denied the Foreign Ministry’s statement and also condemned the attack.
The interior ministry said in a statement that “The enemies of Afghanistan, the enemies of education, have entered Kabul University,” Security forces are trying to control the situation, they are moving very cautiously.” So that no harm is done to the students, Minister of Higher Education Hamid Obaidi said that the firing started when Afghan government officials were expected to arrive at the book fair at the same time there was also a loud explosion that was heard far and wide.
Masooma Jaffery, the deputy spokeswoman for the health ministry, said that two people had been killed and dozens had been taken to hospital, but the number of injuries could rise. According to the Afghan media, after the attack, panic spread among the students, and there is an atmosphere of terror in the university.
Ferdous Ahmadi, a 23-year-old student, said that “We were studying in our classroom when we heard gunshots inside the university, after which there was a loud explosion. Some students managed to escape. There is a lot of chaos, and the students are scared.
It should be noted that an educational institution was targeted in the western district of Kabul, in which 24 people were killed and Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack. In 2018, a suicide bombing in front of the Kabul University killed dozens of people, including a young student. Daesh had also claimed the responsibility for the attack, which was carried out by the armed assailants at an American university in Kabul in 2016, in which at least 16 people were killed at the spot.
