Blast Near Kabul School Injures Around 50 Children, UN Condemns ‘Heinous’ Act

A grenade explosion near a private school in Kabul injured more than 50 people, most of them children, on Monday, as the latest attack raised fresh concerns over the safety of the Hazara community in western Afghanistan.

The blast took place at around 4:30 pm local time at Sham-e Hedayat private school in Mahdia Township, in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of western Kabul. Local reports said students were leaving their classrooms when the explosion happened.

Local media reported that more than 52 people were injured, although Kabul police have not given an exact figure. Police spokesman Khalid Zadran said a number of children were wounded and that an investigation was underway.

Reports on what caused the blast have also differed. Security officials said it involved a hand grenade. Some local reports said the grenade was thrown into the school area, while witnesses said it may have been with a student when it exploded. These details have not been confirmed by authorities.

Afghanistan’s Emergency Kabul Surgical Centre said it was alerted by ambulances after the explosion and activated its mass casualty response. Its country director, Dejan Panic, said patients had shrapnel injuries and at least three needed surgery.

The blast happened in Dasht-e-Barchi, a mainly Hazara and Shia area that has faced repeated attacks. The Hazara community makes up about 9% of Afghanistan’s population and has long faced violence and discrimination.

UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett condemned the incident and called it a “heinous attack” that harmed children. He said an independent investigation was needed to identify those responsible and bring them to justice. He also pointed to the repeated attacks in the Hazara area.

The attack has brought back memories of earlier school attacks in the same area. In May 2021, three explosions near Sayed-e-Shuhada High School killed dozens of people, most of them young Hazara girls. Another attack at Abdul Rahim Shahid Secondary School in April 2022 also killed and wounded students.

No group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s blast. The investigation is continuing, and authorities have yet to say whether the explosion was a deliberate attack or an accident.