Kabul school grenade blast wounds children, police say

A grenade blast at a school in Kabul wounded children, police said, as the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan condemned what he called a “heinous attack”.

Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said late Monday that there had been a “hand grenade explosion” at a school and that several children sustained minor injuries. He said relevant teams had arrived and an investigation was under way.

Richard Bennett, the UN expert on Afghanistan, said numerous children were hurt in the “deplorable” attack in the western Dasht-e-Barchi area, which is home to the historically persecuted Shiite Hazara community. He called for a full and independent investigation aimed at bringing the perpetrators to justice.

A 38-year-old nearby resident said the blast happened Monday at a private primary school for girls and boys as children were being dismissed. She said wounded children were taken away in ambulances and cars, and that there were so many wounded people she could not count them.

A second resident said security forces surrounded the area on Tuesday.

Kabul has seen sporadic attacks over the past five years of Taliban rule. Dasht-e-Barchi has been hit by multiple deadly blasts, including a 2021 car bomb outside a girls' school that killed at least 90 people and wounded hundreds more. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for attacks in Dasht-e-Barchi targeting Shiites.