Suicide Bomber Kills 13 Near Afghan Education Centre

Suicide bomber kills 13 near Afghan education centre

Kabul, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Oct, 2020 ) :A suicide bomber blew himself up near an education centre in the Afghan capital on Saturday, killing at least 13 people and wounding 30 others, the interior ministry said.

The attack happened late afternoon at the centre, which offers training and courses for students in higher education in a western district of Kabul.

"A suicide bomber wanted to enter the education centre," Tareq Arian, spokesman for the interior ministry, said in a statement.

"But he was identified by the centre's guards after which he detonated his explosives in an alley." He said initial reports showed that 13 people were killed and 30 wounded.

Residents in several districts of western Kabul belong to the minority Shiite Hazara community, often targeted by Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In the past, extremists have targeted several education centres and other facilities in the area.

In May, a group of gunmen launched a brazen daylight attack on a hospital in west Kabul that left several mothers dead. The gunmen were shot dead after hours of fighting with security forces.

Afghanistan has seen an upsurge in violence in recent weeks even as the Taliban and the government hold talks to end the country's grinding war.

Earlier on Saturday, a roadside bomb tore through a bus east of Kabul, killing nine civilians.

The bomb struck the bus when it was travelling from Kabul to the city of Ghazni, officials said.

On Friday, rights group Amnesty International said at least 50 people had been killed in attacks in the preceding week, accusing the Taliban and the Afghan government of failing to protect civilians.

"The world must sit up and take notice. Afghan civilians are being slaughtered on a daily basis," said Omar Waraich, head of South Asia at Amnesty International.

"The international community must make the protection of civilians a core demand for their ongoing support of the peace process."Despite joining peace talks with the government last month in Qatar, the Taliban have only increased violence, in a bid to wield leverage in the negotiations.

The top US envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said earlier this week that fighting was threatening the peace process.