The death toll from the suicide bomb attack near an education centre in the Afghan capital has gone up to 30, while at least 70 others were injured. The building in the predominantly Shia Muslim Dasht-e-Barchi area usually hosts hundreds of students.
The death toll from the suicide bomb attack near an education centre in the Afghan capital has gone up to 30, while at least 70 others were injured, a security source told Sputnik, as per news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, a source in the Afghan Ministry of Health told Sputnik that the death toll from the blast stood at 18, with another 50 people having been injured.
According to the source, 37 of the wounded have been taken to Jinnah Hospital in Kabul.
Afghan security officials separately announced on Saturday that a senior al-Qaida commander had been killed in a recent operation in the country's east.
The Afghan intelligence service said in a tweet that special forces killed al-Qaida's number two commander for the Indian sub-continent, Abu Muhsin al-Masri, in a recent operation in eastern Ghazni. The National Directorate of Security did not immediately share more details about the operation.
Al-Masri was listed among the most wanted terrorists by the US Department of Justice in 2018.
On Saturday, a suicide attacker detonated a bomb near the Kawsar e-Danish education center in the Pul-e-Khoshk area of Kabul's western Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood.
According to Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, the attacker was attempting to enter the education centre. The attacker was identified by security guards "after which he detonated his explosives in an alley".
The building in the predominantly Shia Muslim Dasht-e-Barchi area usually hosts hundreds of students.
Many have been taken to the hospital. There are fears the death toll may rise as family members of victims of the suicide bombing are still searching the several different hospitals where the wounded have been taken.
The Interior Ministry put the death toll from the attack at 13 on Saturday, saying that another 30 people were injured.
The Islamic State group said it was behind the attack in messages posted on its social media channels, but did not provide any evidence.
Earlier, the Taliban denied involvement in the attack.
Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council of National Reconciliation in a statement condemned the suicide attack on a training centre in Kabul, saying it is inhuman and against Islamic principles and values.
Shaharzad Akbar, the chairperson of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said, "After a week of horrific violence across Afghanistan" the news on the attack "drains every last ounce of energy and hope."
Afghanistan has seen a rise in violence in recent weeks - with most of the attacks carried out by the Taliban. The violence threatens to imperil peace talks between government forces and the Taliban in the Qatari capital, Doha.
The Shia community in Afghanistan has previously been targeted by Sunni Muslim extremists such as the Islamic State group, which views the Shia practice of Islam as heretical.
(With inputs from agencies)
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