KABUL – A devastating grenade explosion unfolded near a Kabul school Monday afternoon, leaving several children injured, according to local authorities.
Khalid Zadran, spokesperson for Kabul’s police, reported late Monday that “a number of children” had been harmed. An active investigation has been launched, though additional details remain undisclosed.
On Tuesday, Richard Bennett, the United Nations’ special rapporteur for Afghanistan, denounced the “vicious assault that affected numerous children near a school” the day prior.
Reports from Afghan media suggest nearly 50 children were injured in the blast, which struck a part of the capital heavily populated by the Hazara ethnic minority. The Hazara community, accounting for about 9% of Afghanistan’s populace, has enduringly suffered from targeted violence and discrimination. Predominantly Shiite Muslims, they have historically been targeted by Sunni extremists such as the Islamic State, amidst broader marginalization in the Sunni-majority nation.
Back in May 2021, before the Taliban took control following a disordered exit of U.S.-led forces, Kabul witnessed three bombings at a school that claimed the lives of dozens. Those targeted were part of the Hazara community, predominantly young female students exiting class.
That school, like the one where the explosion occurred Monday, was in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood, the main Hazara district in the Afghan capital.
In a social media post on X, Bennett said an independent investigation to bring those responsible to justice was essential. “Once again this mainly Hazara part of Kabul has been targeted. Deplorable!” he wrote.
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